The Ancient Ties That Bind
by Dusk-Singer
Summary: A girl with a traumatic past flees to Lorien where she encounters, for the first time in her life, love and friendship. As the Elves help her heal, she in turn learns of the bonds that transcend race and background. No slash or romance, just sweet Elves.
1. Dawn in Lothlorien

Disclaimer: I don't own Rumil, Haldir or Orophin, although I would love to. These fine Elves belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien.  
  
I wrote this story after getting sick of seeing only slash fics for Haldir and Co. The main character appears in the next chapter.  
  
Dawn in Lothlorien  
  
The sun burned gold over the tops of the trees, heralding a new day in Middle-Earth. It's warmth seeped into the ground and crept over lake and river. It's rays pierced the branches of trees overhead and settled gently on great boulders flecked with time. Gradually, the land awoke, embraced in the long arms of the sun. Another day had come to the mortal lands after a crystal night full of silver threads and dancing dreams. A new timesong had begun.  
  
In the Golden Wood, nothing stirred. A bleary-eyed elf reclined motionless on a branch in a mallorn tree high above the forest floor. His vigilant gaze swept around the woods once again, finally fixing on some small object of interest straight ahead. He sighed restlessly, once, twice. Countless times, it seemed, had he scanned the mystical dark, straining to descry some intruder, some evil minion set on entering the enchanted realm. But, as usual, none had appeared, and now the tired elf wished only for a nourishing meal and some rest.  
  
He had been on guard all night and part of the day before, never once taking a respite. But ah, the day before..Rumil smiled fondly as he allowed his mind to drift back to the festivities that had been held the preceding afternoon in the beautiful elven city Caras Galadhon, his home. The delicious food, the gay singing, the merry dancing, the wise Lord and Lady glowing with pleasure as they strode among their blissful subjects.All had been perfect, the peace pervading every elf's heart, the mystery of the holiday whisking them back to the olden days, ancient songthreads flowing through the old forest, the cadences whispering in arcane tongues what was, what is, and what shall come to be. The magic enfolding the unity.  
  
A sudden rustle in the nearest tree flung Rumil back into the present, and he quickly snapped out of his reverie. A small panic surged in his breast as he slid silently from branch to branch, searching out the source of the clamor. He had slipped away, had gotten lost in a maze of daydreams, and now someone-or something- was creeping around in his Lady's forest. He cursed under his breath and slowly eased forward. Another rustle brought him to a small shrubbery. He grimly kneeled and nocked an arrow to his bowstring, then waited patiently, his eyes glittering. He crouched, half- concealed in the shadows, liquid steel tensed to explode at any moment. He cursed at himself silently once more. But even as he was berating himself for his foolishness, a small bird burst out of the foliage right in front of him, and in a twittering, flapping rush of wings, was gone sooner than Rumil could compose himself.  
  
Still struggling to stifle a cry of surprise, Rumil stumbled backwards, and in a decidedly unElvish fashion, twisted around and grasped the thick branch he had just nearly plummeted from, hanging on with a death grip and gasping for breath. Consciousness whirling and his voice choked, he found himself unable to cry out or even draw breath. His legs flailed, and his dark green eyes registered a hint of panic before he finally collected himself and steadily pulled his legs, then the rest of him over the massive tree limb. He collapsed as a wave of confusion washed over his mind, and expanded his lungs with several deep breaths in an attempt to slow his racing heart.  
  
His head buried in his arms, Rumil trembled on the platform for a short time before hearing light steps on the flet above him. He opened his eyes a few seconds later and weakly lifted his head to see a hand extended in front of a kneeling figure, backlit by the fragmented sunlight. He sighed and gratefully accepted the proffered hand. The figure rose and deftly helped Rumil to his feet, saying," It gladdens my heart to know that Lorien is now safe from one more marauding songbird that would have otherwise wreaked havoc upon our fair wood. Well done, my brother. You are quite the guard."  
  
Haldir stood tall facing his brother, his golden hair shimmering in the morning sun's rays as if it were burning, his soft gray eyes sparkling with an intensity that mirrored the cold stars in the indifferent heavens. A small smile played about his lips as he regarded Rumil, his expression one of more amusement than concern.  
  
Rumil turned away, bristling at the gentle taunt. He spied his bow and quiver on the leaf-strewn floor far below, and without another word, began climbing down gracefully to retrieve it. He felt Haldir's eyes upon him, but resisted the urge to look back, instead deeply breathing of the heady aromas that permeated the wood, pine frost and floral whispers laughing on the gentle breeze which caressed his face, tossing his long, silken-gold hair about, tugging on his moss-green tunic and cloak. He nimbly leaped down to the ground and took up the gilded longbow and patterned quiver, inspecting each closely to assure no damage had been suffered. Satisfied that none had, he strapped his quiver to his back and nimbly climbed up to the flet where his comrades were reposing, Haldir in tow.  
  
Rumil dropped his bow and slumped to the floor of the large, circular platform encompassing the girth of the mallorn. He sighed and wearily rubbed his shadowy eyes, carefully avoiding the bemused gazes of his companions, wishing now only to sleep and forget all that had just transpired. Sleep. It beckoned and teased, slipping around his shoulders like a cloak and enveloping him in it's sweet darkness. But as Rumil was sliding into bliss, Orophin, his rather loquacious brother, grasped his arms and shook him awake.  
  
Rumil opened his eyes and groaned, realizing that sleep would have to wait as Orophin demanded detailed explanations of all that had taken place at the festivities the day before, launching into a litany of questions faster than Rumil could answer. Orophin and several other border-guards had volunteered to miss the celebrations in order to keep the land safe, and he had been quite sore about the whole thing, having been more pressed into service by Haldir than freely offering. His gray-green eyes glittered with curiosity and a touch of smoldering resentment as he queried about the food, the dances, the music.  
  
Reeling from the torrent of words flowing through and past him, Rumil merely cast a helpless look at Haldir and his friend, Silinde, who smiled and rose behind Orophin, still obliviously spouting inquiries along with the other elves that had stayed with him.  
  
Silinde gently touched Orophin's shoulder and whispered in his ear. Orophin fell silent and withdrew sulkily, gathering his legs up under him and leaning back against the great trunk of the mallorn, glaring into space, his eyes playing upon the sunlight weaving patterns as it descended, tattered and parsed through the tops of the trees, to splash on the shadows below. Rumil felt pity for his younger brother as he watched him, and vowed to tell him everything he could remember of the joyous festival when he awoke. But now. Rumil closed his eyes and surrendered to the echoes of his spirit, embracing him in their soft tendrils, and soon he was walking the silver paths of time and dreams.  
  
The last he remembered was Haldir covering him with a blanket, and then a few moments later, farther away, fearfully muttering, "Who in Eru's name is that?" The sudden commotion of elven voices blended and blurred into nothingness, and Rumil finally lost all consciousness. 


	2. Fleeing the Past

Fleeing the Past  
  
Author's Note: This story has more than one protagonist. I introduce another in this chapter. I kind of took a basic idea of a fugitive young soldier type from a popular TV series, developed it in my own way and placed it amongst the enchantment of Middle-Earth. I'm not trying to blatantly copy anything, but this is my first attempt at creative writing and I needed something to lean on.  
  
Oh yea, and it was really neat when I went to preview my first chapter and it was all one big paragraph. Sorry bout that.  
  
She was running hard, stumbling over unseen obstacles, branches seemingly appearing out of nowhere gashing her face, her hands. The loamy darkness stretched out it's ghastly arms to embrace her, beckoning her to fall into it's maw, it's leering mouth gaping wide to claim her. She cared not. All that mattered now was evading her pursuers, escaping the cruel fate that surely awaited her should she be captured. She would be whipped, or worse. Maybe this time they would even set her "brothers and sisters" on her, like they had on Krynn. She harshly wiped her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks as she tore through the thick forest, her lungs on fire, her feet and legs wearying. She forced the hideous recollections of the gruesome punishment suffered by her sister from her mind, and concentrated on making it through the woods alive. Her deep black cloak trailed her like ebony liquid, flowing out from her as she swiftly darted around and behind this tree, then that one. The cries of her stalkers echoed all around her, sweeping down from the high branches, enveloping her in their calm terror. She stopped, glanced quickly around, began sprinting again, her enhanced senses warning of barriers and stumbling blocks in her path. Suddenly, a ravine emerged and opened under her feet as if by magic, and she tumbled down the steep slope, struggling wildly to grab hold of some firm root or plant, but only snatching damp soil and rocks. She made no sound, clamping her lips tightly together as she fell, down, down, until a cushion of leaves broke her descent and halted her terrifying tumble. She lay silent for several minutes, practically holding her breath, then stealthily scrambled up the opposite side and promptly squatted on her heels in watchful vigilance, her ears straining to detect any sounds of pursuit. She licked her lips and pulled from her belt a wicked-looking throwing knife, a curved blade that reflected the waning moonlight, fingering it absentmindedly as she tensed, ready to confront the ones who wished to imprison her again. A grim countenance passed over her face, her eyes flashing with fierce determination. She would die before she would look upon that hellhole again. Mordor was better than that place, Mt. Doom itself she would rather reside in than Nencoras.  
  
The shouts of the armed soldiers chasing her had faded into the terrible silence of the mysterious timberland, giving way to the occasional ghostly murmurings oozing from every shadow, the sounds magnifying and resounding in the marrow of her bones. She slowed and collapsed onto one knee, gasping for breath, shuddering uncontrollably. She eased herself against the base of a large tree, cradling her in it's giant roots protruding from the ground, and tightly shut her eyes, trying to gain control over her senses and fend off the panic attack she knew was approaching. She shook her head and realized that she must continue at all costs, must leave these cursed woods for safer ground. Dazed and exhausted, she rose with a small groan, then froze in horror as a new thought dawned upon her. The soldiers were no longer on her trail. They had given up and gone back, abandoning her to her own devices, leaving her alone at least for the time being. Cold sweat broke out on her brow as she pondered this. Nencoras soldiers never gave up a hunt, especially for one of their own. They would never turn away from an important mission such as this. But they had. The girl's imagination swirled in vivid shades of fright and panic as she came to the conclusion that there was something- or someone-in this forest, thus the explanation for the seemingly inexplicable abrupt change of heart in the band of soldiers that only moments ago had been hotly hunting her. The fading night breeze swam around her, it's ancient voice mocking her as she slowly became aware of the fact that she had no idea where she was.  
  
She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, whirling about every which way searching for signs of flitting shadows spying her, or perhaps hungry ghoulish spirits streaming through the ether darkness, lying in wait for a next victim. Snatches of tales she had heard long ago sprang to her memory, tales of Elf-Witches, hidden Dwarf strongholds, evil Wights ensnaring hapless travelers. She clenched her fists even tighter, rivulets of blood flowing freely from her palm holding the blade and dripping in large, dark beads, splashing on the ground, staining the gold leaves and spiky twigs. The panic began to overwhelm her, almost toppling her backwards with it's forceful weight, squeezing her chest so tightly she felt as if she was being held in some immense vise, wringing her lifethreads out of her, wrenching her mind out of reality and hurling it into a void, bottomless, with walls formed out of despair. She fought vainly to contain the purple spark expanding inside her head threatening to explode at any moment, the harbringer of the throes that violently shook her periodically. She swallowed a knot in her throat and hurried onwards, oblivious of her surroundings, not bothering to notice the fact that she had stumbled into a mystical land, feelings of peace and well-being suddenly enveloping her. The woods thinned a little, and she saw that she was surrounded by huge, majestic trees, their strange beauty towering over her in the dusky pre- dawn glow. She sniffed, lowered her head and pressed forward, creeping as silently as she could manage, until she could not find the strength nor will to go on. The purple spark had retreated for now, sputtering at the edge of her existence, quietly looming over her sanity. She sank to her knees and wrapped her travel-stained cloak around herself, laying down amidst the leaves strewn about, their shapes unfamiliar to her. She impassively noticed the shards of dawn which were finding their way to her pallid face, dancing on her lap and illuminating the forest floor. She observed them with an apathetic eye, barely on the threshold of feeling anymore. She lay still, her eyes wandering languidly across the small clearing ahead of her.  
  
Her eyes flew open and she bolted upright as she espied a stray arrow lying not ten paces from her. Her heart banging against her ribs, she dragged herself forward to investigate, ignoring the snatches of faint voices drifting down her way, her mind too weary to comprehend the potential threat that was now noiselessly observing her in the form of hard elven stares and bowstrings pulled taut, the deadly arrows aimed at her limp form shivering with trepidation, fearfully glancing around in the burgeoning daylight. Her trained senses had warned her too late that she was being observed, and the girl heaved herself to her feet, knife poised in one hand, bloodstained and gleaming coldly, her hazel eyes blazing with defiance as she prepared her last stand.  
  
A tall shadow dropped soundlessly to the ground behind her and strode quickly up to her back, his bow at the ready. Without warning, the girl spun around, her knife raised to throw, hatred contorting her face. In the flash of a moment, the elf loosed his arrow straight into the girl's hand, simultaneously disarming her further with a swift kick to her sternum, sending her flying backwards to the hard ground. A shrill cry escaped her lips as the arrow pierced her palm, a look of astonishment and hopeless fear replacing the twisted leer crossing her face. All the wind flew from her lungs as she flopped hard on her back, her head striking a rock soon after. Electric blackness flowed into her skull, then a searing radiance as she spun back into reality, dangling from the ledge of awareness. The pain quickly overcame her, and she lay motionless on her back, offering no more resistance as other strange men with long hair surrounded her, their gazes intense, their bright eyes gleaming intensely as they observed this peculiar young woman staring petrified back at them. She struggled to recall the Elvish she had been taught, unable to dredge anything but broken bits from her tortured memory. Her mouth opened, but she could say nothing except utter a hoarse plea for her life in Elvish over and over again. She suddenly felt hands slide under her head, her shoulders, gently lifting them so she could look into the grey eyes of the one who had defeated her, his stare no longer glacial and hostile, but soft and concerned, the depths of his gaze revealing wisdom and sharp perceptiveness.  
  
He asked her for her name in Elvish, then Common Speech, but his words blurred and swirled around the girl, and she helplessly stared blankly at him, lurching back and forth between consciousness and black solitude. She finally managed to murmur a reply in Elvish before slipping into the impenetrable mist of forgetfulness. "My name is Danali and I have now tasted the bitter price of freedom. No more, no more." 


	3. The Door

Disclaimer: Once again, sadly enough I don't own Rumil, Orophin or Haldir. The immortal J.R.R.Tolkien has them stuffed into a vault in a secret location. I just have cheap facsimiles.  
  
Thanks to everyone who reviewed. It was encouraging and insightful. Many fuzzies to you.  
  
Yes, I stole some Elvish lines out of the movie. Cheap, I know. I plead ignorance of the language and lack of imagination.  
  
The Door  
  
A soft scuffling noise below, then silence.  
  
Danali jolted awake, her mind swirling in shades of blue, her entire upper body lifting off the floor, effortless with terror. Sweat beaded on her forehead, her neck, her chest. She whipped her head to the left, then the right, struggling to discern her surroundings. Her sleep-laden eyes pierced through the gloom, making out hints of fluid electricity materializing into dim swirls, then vanishing again. She eventually recognized that she was in a room, flanked by circular walls, it's roof a great starwheel rotating ponderously above her. She reached out to touch it, but it eluded her fingertips, rippling as if formed from satin thread. She stared at it a few seconds more, puzzled, then turned her head sideways upon hearing another rustle beside her.  
  
There was a door on the left, a wooden door painted with strange dreamswirls of silver and starlight, glimmering with an otherworldly sheen, an unnatural attraction. She frowned in confusion, her insides twisting with fear, her throat constricting as if she was falling into nothing. Her chest heaved, rising heavily with each breath, a sharp pain coursing through her lungs as she inhaled. She stared, transfixed, at the odd portal before her, a mixture of dread and longing feuding in her mind. She panicked as the breath was stolen from her lungs, the air drawn out in a gossamer ribbon, the atmosphere shimmering with purple intent.  
  
It comes.  
  
Danali squeezed her eyes shut, the blackness whirling about behind her eyelids. Her hands curled into fists, and she suppressed a cry as a sudden volt of pain lanced through her right palm. Her dark eyes flew open, and she perceived an emptiness creeping up to her back, the dreaded foe she would never be able to evade, the purple spark bearing uncontrollable shudders that many times before had thrown her to the ground and rendered her helpless even as they caused her soul to shriek and crumple.  
  
You do not belong here.  
  
She screamed, the raw sound mingling with echoes and returning to mock her. The purple fire reared up before her, it's cold heat radiating her darkest fears and spreading over her quaking body. It grew until it blocked Danali's view of the door, obstructing her passage of escape, grew until it filled her soul with hollow nothingness and took control of her senses.  
  
I am a good soldier, a worthy, loyal soldier.  
  
Her heart howled and withered as her teeth came together hard, gnashing her spirit to pieces as the terrifying convulsions began racking her body. An icy strand tightened about her throat, forbidding her to draw breath.  
  
Please.  
  
The tremors came quicker now, her arms and legs twitching violently, her head jerking side to side. Frothy blood spilled from her mouth as her teeth sliced the insides of her cheeks, and only the whites of her eyes showed as her hands frantically clamped across her neck, straining to tear away the invisible vise locked on her throat. A scream welled from the depths of her being, only to escape as a throttled gurgle.  
  
Please.  
  
The purple flame gathered itself into a smoldering orb and flew from Danali as she was hurled back through a blazing tunnel into horrible waking reality. Breath surged into her lungs and tears streamed freely down her cheeks, dripping off her chin, running into her agape mouth and diluting the bitter taste of blood as she sobbed hysterically. Someone was firmly clutching her shoulders and speaking to her, the words twirling and eluding her until they finally registered in her tortured mind. Elvish. Someone- a man- was speaking to her in Elvish, a note of fear and relief in his voice when he saw she was alright.  
  
" Lady. hear my voice."  
  
Lasto beth nin.  
  
" Come back to the light."  
  
Tolo dan na ngalad.  
  
" Lady."  
  
Danali collapsed in the elf's embrace and surrendered to the overwhelming exhaustion that claimed her consciousness yet again. She dreamed no more, her mind simply wandering the void of warm oblivion.  
  
  
  
Rumil struggled to regain control of his pounding heart, his mouth dry with fear, his brow laced with sweat. He gently eased the senseless girl back down on her blanket, her face peaceful and serene, now no longer wrenched into a grimace of fear and terror. He smoothed her short hair back, brushing aside stray wisps from her damp features and running his eyes over her limp form to assure himself that she was, for the time being, alright. He sat back on his heels and mustered all his strength of being to keep from sobbing uncontrollably, his evergreen eyes flooding with tears threatening to spill over. He took another shuddering breath, then another, and reached for a cloth to clean the girl's face, trying to put aside all he had just witnessed.  
  
All he remembered was awakening and finding himself alone, save a young woman laying a few feet away from him, writhing and gasping for air, her limbs twitching and her eyes rolled back into her head, foamy blood spattering her lips. He at first had recoiled in horror, then had gathered his wits and leapt to the convulsing girl's side, gripping her shoulders and preventing her head from striking the hard wooden slats of the flet. It had been all he could do besides murmur a desperate plea to her deaf ears, his gaze locked on her unseeing eyes. Within a few moments, it had ended, leaving Rumil with a thousand questions and a nerve-wracked composure.  
  
Where were his brothers?  
  
Rumil calmed himself somewhat and exhaled slowly, turning his face skywards and drinking in the glistening pale- golden sunthreads that penetrated the canopies of the mallorn treetops, exulting in their replenishing energies. Clarity sprang into Rumil's consciousness unannounced, sweeping away the panic and fear that had gripped his heart only a short while ago. He turned and gathered the girl's blood-stained blanket, twisted from her wild thrashings, and replaced it with his own, pulling it gently to her shoulders. He paused and regarded the girl's sleeping features, peaceful, serene, betraying no hint of the terrible throes she had succumbed to earlier. He shook his head regretfully as he prepared his bow and quiver, then fastened his cloak about his throat with a small silver clasp. He lifted up his arms and stretched, looked east, stretched again. He grasped a slender branch and glanced back at his unlikely companion one last time.  
  
Still puzzling over these odd circumstances that had been thrust so suddenly upon him, Rumil climbed to a higher branch of the tree and awaited his comrades impatiently.  
  
Overhead, the burning visage of the sun gazed on indifferently as it continued it's trek across the azure canopy of the sky. 


	4. The Meeting

Many thanks again to all who reviewed. I appreciate it much.  
  
  
  
The Meeting  
  
Sunbeams sliced through Danali's eyelids and beckoned her to awaken. A gentle wind brushed her face and sighed in her ears, a soft, melodic whisper of ancient secrets. As she slowly became conscious, more sounds and smells greeted her, deep, rich aromas infused with age and memory. She stirred, drowsily rolled onto her back, and lazily opened her eyes, bleary with sleep. The long rest had imbued her with new strength, and she raised herself up on her elbows to glance around. Her eyes took in the sun-dappled forest floor and towering mallorns surrounding the high flet she was in, and her hand flew to her mouth as she suddenly and vividly recalled the recent events that had brought her to this place. An icy fire burned her stomach, and she tasted metallic bitterness in her mouth, the copper saltiness of blood. She lifted her bandaged hand and stared at it, at the bloodied cloth tied across her palm and swallowed hard. She began to shake, and her fear-laden eyes swept quickly around the trees and flet in search of the mysterious Elves that had taken her captive. Her damaged hand swiftly came to rest on her belt, frantically seeking a throwing knife, and she gave a soft cry at finding her precious daggers gone, apparently taken by the grey-eyed Captain and his soldiers while she dreamt of stars and purple and.doors.  
  
Danali gave another cry, this one louder, at the sudden approach of a lone Elf to her right from seemingly nowhere. Before she could spring up or utter any other sound, he had one hand gently but firmly clasped over her mouth, and the other gripping her shoulder, his upper body pressed to her back in a strange embrace. His dark green cloak swept around as he knelt behind her, lightly caressing her face and arm before settling back and draping over the Elf's back and bent legs. A faint scent of mountain snow and pine berries swirled around her as he leaned over her shoulder and spoke soothingly in her ear, his smooth voice reassuring her of her safety. She relaxed a little and nodded her head, encouraged by his kind words. He carefully removed his hand from her mouth and sat back on his heels, his hands resting on his knees. Danali spun around and faced her captor, preparing herself to fight, but her fists quickly unclenched as Rumil coolly met her gaze, remaining as he was, with a relaxed posture and a calm countenance. His eyebrows were lifted in mild surprise at her knowledge of his language, and he showed no eagerness to challenge her. Danali's shoulders sagged, and she warily settled back down and crossed her legs, her alert eyes never leaving his, searching for hidden purposes and other intentions. But she discovered none, and finally relaxed a little more, heaving a shuddery sigh as she averted her eyes from the odd yet strangely enchanting Elf who now regarded her with a critical gaze. His evergreen eyes flashed.  
  
" Who are you and what are you doing on my flet, much less in my Lady's wood?"  
  
Rumil's voice carried an edge of threat as he leaned toward Danali, his long golden hair slipping over his shoulders and swinging down around his somber face.  
  
Danali trembled as she leaned back and away from the dead serious Elf who had only moments ago assured her of no harm, terrified and wondering if she truly was safe, and wondering as well who this Lady was. Her mouth drained, as did her mind, and she could only manage to stutter, " Pl-please, I did n- not know." She weakly trailed off and slid her hands behind her, struggling to keep her solidity, her balance. She glimpsed a quiver of arrows strung over his back, their snow-white shafts taunting her, and her eyes swept frantically around the Elf, searching for a longbow. Her throat closed and her breath welled up inside, churning intensely.  
  
Rumil quickly sat back upon seeing the terror in the poor girl's chestnut eyes, and his features instantly softened. He reached over, grasped Danali's elbows and lifted her arms, his hands sliding down to hers.  
  
"Please forgive me, lady, 'tis alright. It is only that- well, you gave me quite a scare a time ago, and- do not fear, I'm not going to harm you."  
  
Danali raised her eyes and glanced into Rumil's strange face. His forest- struck eyes were now pleading and concerned, and Danali thought she perceived a fleeting hint of fear come and go. Her insides tightened as she finally understood what he had said.  
  
"How did I frighten you, Master Elf?" Her voice quavered and she saw a look of bewilderment and fear cloud Rumil's face as he hesitantly related the terrifying tremors that had possessed Danali in her deathlike sleep. A cold, invisible blade slowly crept up her spine and wrenched her gut as she listened to the awful account. 'Oh, no, it happened again', she thought, and she firmly grasped the Elf's forearms and pulled him toward her in a rush of desperation.  
  
Her stare met his puzzled one, her voice shimmered darkly as she spoke. " Forget what you saw. 'Twas nothing. Nothing at all. Speak no more of it."  
  
Rumil's eyes flashed in disbelief as he pulled away from Danali's amazingly strong grip, and a surge of anger swelled up in him, though he was taken aback at the fire in her stare.  
  
"Enough, lady. I meant nothing by it." He swept back away from her and rested on his knees in one fluid movement, his voice tight with suppressed anxiety. His voice pitched deeper, the tones gleaming.  
  
" Here you come, a lady dressed as a man, with hair as short as one also, having a tendency to convulse suddenly in your sleep, frothing at the mouth like a crazed horse, scaring the very immortality out of me, and now telling me to simply forget the whole episode, then waving me off as if it matters not. Who do you think you are, besides believing yourself to be a man?"  
  
A faint smirk wavered on Rumil's lips at this last statement, and Danali was seized with a sudden powerful desire to wipe it off. Instead, she summoned the swirls of being at her core and allowed them to float about her mind, their lucid red-gold strands calming and empowering her. But the Elf's final parting shot had seared away some self-control, and Danali couldn't resist airing certain thoughts she had had since meeting the peculiar guard.  
  
" Well, you bear a strong resemblance to a girl, but I'm not complaining about that, am I?"  
  
Rumil's face fell, and his eyes narrowed in annoyance, the corners of his mouth twitching as he glared venomously at the girl. But Danali was tired, as was Rumil, and the toll that the stress of the past days took on her emotions had shredded her senses and fried her reasoning. Against her better judgment, she ignored the irritation on Rumil's face and pressed on, some detached, sadistic part of her mind wishing to see how far the Elf would allow her to go.  
  
" In fact," she sneered, "you would probably look halfway decent in a dress and none would be the wiser for it."  
  
As soon as she said it, she regretted it. Rumil jumped to his feet, his face all of a sudden unreadable, his brow furrowed in disgust. The light in his eyes gleamed cold and bright, a fell spark of Elven anger. Danali shrank back as he took a step towards her, and she shut her eyes in fearful anticipation of a well-placed arrow, or perhaps the steely reckoning of an Elvish blade between her ribs. Several heavy seconds passed, and all was still. Danali gathered enough audacity to peer out at the motionless Elf still standing before her, and was startled to see that a weary resignation had replaced the blankness on his features. When he finally spoke, surrender crept into his barely audible voice.  
  
"I am sorry that we had to meet this way, lady, and I offer my apologies for what I said earlier. My name is Rumil. I care not whether you give me yours."  
  
The soft bitterness of his words pierced Danali, and she remained seated, speechless. After a short pause, he sighed, tore his gaze from her and turned away.  
  
" Gather your things and come over here. The Guard shall be returning shortly, I hope."  
  
Danali's eyes followed him as he disappeared around a corner, and she bit her lip in remorse as she slowly bent to comply, the Elf's icy words rushing around her, his bell-like voice resounding in her memory. She inwardly cursed at herself for her foolishness in insulting one of the Fair and Ancient as they were known at Nencoras, and felt a pang of regret for offending him.  
  
Why do these happenings always fall upon me?  
  
Her hands found her cloak, the elven blanket, the torn strips of cloth used as bandages for her hands. Carefully, painstakingly, she wrapped them as she wrapped her thoughts, and was surprised to find that her eyes were swimming.  
  
Please- I didn't mean for this. Please- I'm frightened.  
  
Her pride vanished as she admitted her fear. Her lower lip trembled. Exhaustion marched upon her being once more, and this time threatened to overwhelm her. Her thoughts became words, wrenched through with anxiety and pain.  
  
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.  
  
She clasped her legs to her chest and rocked back and forth with anguish, her eyes and mouth clamped shut, her face buried in her knees.  
  
"Lady?"  
  
The soft voice flung her out of her reverie and she half looked up. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rumil approach again, bearing a worried frown on his high brow. Danali lifted her head and tried to speak to him, but the words became entangled and thorns scratched her throat instead. The tears sprang up and spilled over even as she fought to contain them, blurring her vision and freeing her heart.  
  
Rumil knelt and placed his hand on the angst-ridden girl's shoulder. He did not say a word as she wept, her soul slowly repairing itself as the flood of tears swept away the old emotions, cleansing her stained essence and rendering the marred lifethreads silver and pure again. She did not notice when Rumil placed his hand over hers, nor when the steely-eyed March-Warden and his Guard finally reappeared on the flet as swift and silent as shadows illuminated by the sun. 


	5. The Memories of Trees

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, blah, blah, blah.  
  
The Memories of Trees  
  
This place is a dream, a swirl of incandescent pearl enveloping the timesongs and their mournful harmonies. Time passes slower here than the rest of the chaotic world around us. We have been here since the first chords of the timesongs rose from their dreamless sleep and began flowing through the deserted pathways of the lands. We have been here since the deathless ones who witnessed the light of the Two Trees arrived. It was they who awoke us from forgetfulness into sentience. It is they who are fading, as are we, into myth and legend, into dark nothingness. We remember.  
  
Come, sit close to us as we tell you all you wish to know, all your heart longs to learn. The spirit is a wondrous, dreadful place, a fire scorching within. Perhaps you wish to hear of the Great Kinslayings, or maybe the terrible wars brought on by the Evil One that ravaged the lands and souls of the races of Middle-Earth. Will you hear the tale of the immortal Nightingale who sacrificed her eternity to be reunited with a mortal Follower? Listen as we relate to you the tragic lay of the Master of Doom, or the fall of the Hidden City, as we regale you with the legends of the Firstborn and the departure of the Entwives.  
  
The Noldor Queen who dwells in the Dreamflower has long been our ally, for she is one of the few who also remember. But even this, she does not know. An evil is stirring again. A summons, a cry of a master to his black soul has been heard. It reverberates throughout the land and echoes in the silent moments. It is what you feel when shudders traverse your spine and the hollow cold replaces your center of being. It is what you dream when you dance among the stars in sleep. It has awoken. It is coming from the bowels of the Black Land. It seeks- what? What is there for it to seek? Power. The blissful inebriation of control. The final realization of despair.  
  
  
  
It comes.  
  
  
  
Not very long ago, a fortress of the greatest magnitude was erected near our forest. It was named Nencoras, a name we do not understand, with a purpose we can only fear. Hidden in a valley branching from the Misty Mountains, it is unknown to most, and is zealously guarded from prying eyes by fearsome soldiers who prowl the woods surrounding it. It is a training grounds, a project designed to produce great soldiers, quick of mind and reflex, strong in body and heart. Children are brought there and are raised to be cold, calculating war machines, their sole purpose in life to kill or be killed. We know. We have seen them. They dash through our wood and prepare for battle. They swing from our boughs and loose their arrows at targets unseen. They ride the savory tides of bloodlust, the slavering jaws of death consume their being. We are bewildered and troubled by what we have witnessed. Do you know? Can you reveal the workings of the human heart to us? Can you tell us, with soft speech, what drives the dark interplays of calamity among you? Perhaps not. These questions shall wait. All will be revealed to us in time. Time is no object to us. But as for you?  
  
  
  
Have you the time to learn? 


	6. Kindled Hope

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Orophin, Rumil or Haldir, much as I would like to, so don't sue me. Danali, however, is mine. I am eternally gratefully to the great J.R.R. Tolkien for creating Middle-Earth, Elves and magic.  
  
And, as always, thanks to all who review. I am very interested in critiques of my writing.  
  
Kindled Hope  
  
Danali sat perched on a smooth branch near the flet and allowed her mind to wander freely. The Elves had sent her to this isolated section of the flet for they had wanted to discuss "newly-arisen issues". She ran her fingers through her hair and pulled it away from her face, sighing, staring at the enchanted beauty before her, the sorrowful whisper of the fading land.  
  
She unwillingly thought back to her days at Nencoras, the place of her sorrow-filled childhood, the hated prison that had wrenched her soul and choked her spirit. Reflections of her lost brothers and sisters shimmered in her memory and then faded out. She wondered what had become of her beloved comrades. Jenian hadn't made it past the perimeter, nor had Nysal. Both had been downed by cruel arrows seeking blood, even as they had sought freedom. And Torilai, and Kenar. Danali buried her head in her knees and shook it, trying vainly to fling the memories away, the terror of that night, the terror and the sweet exhilaration of freedom, of the bonds of captivity loosed. How she had exulted, throwing herself on the new ground and tasting the air, gasping for it as one gulps water in the desert! And then the hunters had been deployed. She had had to flee once more for her life, blindly half-lumbering eastwards, away, away from the hell that she had once called home. Away from everything she had ever known or loved, abandoning all for liberty.  
  
Danali shuddered as she suddenly, vividly saw Jenian dragging herself through the sand and loam, remembered how the moonlight was splashed over the leaves and tree roots, how peaceful it all had looked in the midst of the merciless bloodshed taking place, the air thick with silent terror and the occasional cry as the hunters stalked through the forest seeking the escapees. Four words kept flashing through her mind as the unwanted replay continued: 'I'm going to die.'She remembered turning and looking back as she flew, remembered the agony spread on Jenian's face, the two arrows sticking straight up out of her back, her hair hanging in damp strings as the driving rain struck her head, the ground, the mud. Remembered her scream.  
  
  
  
The shrill cry reverberated back into Danali's brain with staggering force as a light hand fell upon her shoulder. She whipped around and gasped as she grasped the startled Elf's forearm and, with amazing strength, twisted it and flung him to the slatted floor of the flet below. He grunted as the wind was sucked from his lungs, tried to say something, but had not the breath to form the words. Still locked in the escape-and-evade mode, Danali whirled her head around, searching for a hidden exit. Her hands groped wildly for her missing knives as she hurriedly stood, but her balance was thrown off and she plunged the short distance from the bough to the poor Elf sprawled supine beneath her. He had only time to widen his eyes in dread before she hit.  
  
Rationality returned to her and sense flooded her mind as she flopped onto his chest and stomach, the impact sending reason surging back to her in a flash. She drew in a strangled gasp, struggling to calm herself, her heart pounding so hard she could feel it's surge in her brain. She immediately rolled off and bent one knee, breathing heavily as she inspected the hapless messenger, whom she quickly recognized as Rumil. A small panic rose and stabbed into her stomach. Her breaths came slower now, and she winced inwardly as he opened his forested eyes and glared back up at her.  
  
She pulled her head away from his and gingerly offered a hand, which he promptly refused with an angry shake of his head. His bright eyes were flashing, and Danali pulled back away even more as she observed his anger. He groaned loudly as he struggled to sit up, one hand cradling the other arm, his breathing labored and painful. He clenched his eyes shut as he exhaled between gritted teeth, his brow furrowed, his legs straight out in front of him. They sat in awkward silence for a few moments as Rumil slowly regained control of his breath, Danali's gaze averted from the fuming Elf's face, her cheeks flushing uncontrollably.  
  
"By Eru, lady, you are trying to kill me, aren't you?"  
  
His voice shimmered darkly, a hint of rage underlying the surface calm. Danali's face burned and she stayed turned away from him as he groaned again and shuffled to his feet, muttering under his breath.  
  
"First you almost scare me to death, and now this."  
  
Rumil brushed himself off and grimaced as his hands slid over his ribs, his features crinkling in pain as he inhaled deeply. His rumpled cloak flowed into place behind his back, it's velvet green glistening in the zealous sunlight. Danali jumped to her feet and approached the wincing Elf penitently as he stiffly bent to retrieve the longbow that had flown out of his hands.  
  
He cut her off before an apology could escape her lips.  
  
"Do not bother. I came to tell you of dinner-'' He swept up his fallen bow and calmly restrapped his now slightly squashed quiver to his back, his features controlled, only his voice betraying his anger. "But now that I've been sufficiently frightened, attacked and crushed, I think instead I shall go sit down for a little while and ponder over the reasons why I am a guard again." Without a backwards glance at her, he turned and swiftly disappeared around the wide mallorn trunk, his cloak flowing out behind him, his feet stamping irritatedly.  
  
Danali dropped the hand she had raised in protest, heaved an exasperated sigh and leaned against the bough she had fallen from, it's leaves waving languidly in the autumn-laden breeze. Her eyes traversed around the small area absently, her mind still reeling.  
  
What am I doing here?  
  
She knelt on the smooth floor and felt a knot of frustration climb her throat, prompting unwanted tears to spring to her eyes. What if she had seriously injured Rumil? A solitary tear trailed down her cheek. What if she had killed him? Minutes whirled by, the time seeming both fast and slow. She sniffed and swiped her hand across her face, a gasp jolting her as she saw the Elf who had appeared seemingly from nowhere kneeling close before her, his handsome features softly displaying concern.  
  
The first thought that struck Danali's mind was how his eyes resembled moon- splashed moss, their velvet grey-green depths mirroring the kindness within. Her second thought was about how all Elves seemed to have gorgeous eyes.  
  
The Elf's fair face crinkled into a smile as he wordlessly offered Danali his hand, his gaze encouraging her to accept. She hesitantly slipped her hand into his and he effortlessly pulled her to her feet, his eyes remaining locked on hers. She hardly had time to wonder at this new Elf before he turned to go, his hand still firmly clasping hers, and she followed close behind.  
  
She turned her head to look back at the secluded alcove in the shimmering twilight, and started in surprise and fright when she turned back around to see thirty or so Elves seated around a small feast on the large flet, Haldir standing immediately before her, Rumil behind him. Her first instinct was to take flight, then and there, before she was punished for what she had done to Rumil, but the guide Elf had other plans. He grasped her hand tighter and gently pulled her around to stand in front of Haldir, his gaze assuring her of no harm. She swiftly fell to her knees, her eyes downcast, her hands spread in surrender, her lip trembling in fear.  
  
Her surprise was great when Haldir knelt as well, his hand sliding under her chin so he could search her eyes, his stern face full of kindness, although he did not smile. His voice was silk as he spoke to her in the Elven tongue.  
  
"Do not weep again, Danali, for I know you weep much. Your heart is burdened with what heavy sorrows, I cannot tell, but you are safe here under the Lady's protection, and you have nothing to fear from us."  
  
Danali slowly stood with Haldir, her heart's misgivings easing a little, and he spoke now louder to her.  
  
"Come. The meal is prepared. Let us forget the day's griefs and eat in peace. I trust you have met my brothers Rumil and Orophin?"  
  
Haldir nodded toward the two Elves now standing on either side of him. Danali stared at Rumil, who simply lifted an eyebrow, then to the guide Elf, who smiled warmly at her, and nodded.  
  
"It is well, then. Let us begin."  
  
Haldir and Rumil turned to join their companions, but Orophin swept forward and grasped the rather startled Danali's hands in his own, his eyes shining with suppressed excitement.  
  
"Come, lady. I shall introduce you after the meal, and then you shall tell me of your home."  
  
Danali opened her mouth to protest, but Orophin was already turned and part- dragging her to an empty place between Rumil and a raven-haired Elf. She managed a weak smile as she was seated, wondering silently at the strangeness of the world- and Elves. 


	7. Uncertain Logic

Disclaimer: Ok, I think we all know by now that I don't own these characters except for Danali. I have merely borrowed them from the master himself, Tolkien.  
  
Uncertain Logic  
  
The breeze sighed and gently intruded into Danali's thoughts as she reclined against the mallorn trunk behind her. Around her a small assembly of Elves were quietly eating dinner and conversing, their light voices blending with the faint whispers of the stars overhead. She heaved a sigh and wearily shrugged up against the slick bark, accidentally nudging the Elf sitting close beside her. Orophin immediately stopped shoving food in his mouth, turned toward her and smiled warmly, his silver-olive eyes dancing lightly. Danali blushed and resumed studying the linen strip wrapped tightly around her mutilated hand, turning it every which way and pretending she was observing play of moonlight on the cloth. She listened disinterestedly to the soft conversations being held around her, fragments of Elvish drifting about and wafting into the night sky. A small fire blazed in the center of the flet, it's warmth caressing Danali's face and hands, it's light shedding a muted glow on the congregated Elves and their dinners. Her own dinner lay untouched by her knee, her appetite mollified by sinking depression. What hope did she have of fitting in here? An overwhelming sense of apathy was replacing fear, and now she was wondering if it would be better for her to die.  
  
Orophin's smooth voice interrupted her dark musings.  
  
"I pray the food is to your liking, Lady?"  
  
Danali slowly swung her head to face the concerned Elf, her expression totally blank, her eyes vacant. She dipped her chin once, twice. Orophin matched her steady gaze with his own, his face growing all of a sudden serious and almost menacing in the flickering firelight, shadows swirling about his cheeks and eyes.  
  
" Of course, one does not know if something is good unless she tries it, no?"  
  
Danali's head snapped up at the rebuke, her tongue at the ready with a searing reply, her eyes flaring, only to be met with a morsel of bread and a mirthful chuckle from Orophin. A gentle smile graced his face once more, and he raised his eyebrows in query, inviting her to take the bread he offered. Danali glared at the bemused Elf and lowered her head again, allowing her shoulder-length hair to swing around her face and tracing the stitching of her leggings with her finger.  
  
Undaunted, Orophin replaced the bread on the girl's plate and broke off a piece of cheese to tempt her stubborn appetite. He rested the back of his hand on her folded knee and waited patiently for her to accept the creamy yellow food.  
  
At the touch of Orophin's hand, Danali felt her temper begin to flare up, but managed to grasp a few strands of control and lift her head. Her eyes locked on Orophin while she firmly pushed the offending hand away from her leg, then pressed her lips together and crossed her arms, assuming a posture of defiance, the invisible walls protecting her from further attack.  
  
'Like a child she is,' Orophin thought, then straightened himself as he remembered that she practically was a child. He glanced at her plate and grabbed an apple slice, then, with the patience of the immortal, leaned even closer to Danali and waited hopefully, apple in outstretched hand, for the gloomy young woman to notice.  
  
He did not wait long.  
  
Danali jerked her head up, calmly plucked the apple slice from between Orophin's fingers and just as calmly tossed it over her shoulder to the forest floor far below.  
  
Orophin's eyes followed the forsaken fruit's trajectory until the darkness prohibited him to see further, his patience wavering a little as he regarded the stoic girl who refused to meet his gaze, her shoulders hunched as she drew her nightshaded cloak tighter about her shivering body, her bitter eyes staring straight ahead, seeing nothing. He felt eyes on his own back, and glanced behind to meet Haldir's dancing eyes, their grey light registering amusement; he had obviously been enjoying the tense interaction between the two. Orophin wanly smiled back and turned around to expend one last effort. He decided to make an attempt at humour, not bothering to consider the obvious fact that Danali was probably not in the best of moods for jesting.  
  
" In Lorien, the law states that all who try to starve themselves shall be tied upside down to a branch and forced to listen to the entire history of the world."  
  
Danali inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, attempting to retain her tenuous hold on control and shakily succeeding. The Elf was beginning to irritate her beyond all else, regardless of his intentions. She summoned up a supernatural will from somewhere, rendered her facial features expressionless and prayed that she would keep reign over her tongue. Her voice dripped annoyance.  
  
" You really do think you're funny, don't you?"  
  
Orophin shrugged the biting question off easily and grinned charmingly.  
  
"Tis what my brothers tell me, and I do not dare to question their superior wisdom and excellent taste."  
  
Danali could feel the smoke beginning to trickle out of her head.  
  
"I beg to differ with your ever so wonderful brothers. Now kindly leave me be."  
  
Orophin sprang back with his usual disarming affectation, still smiling cheerily, and decided to change the subject. He gently stroked a lock of Danali's hair and tugged it teasingly.  
  
" Your hair. it's so short. I have not seen a lady with such short hair before."  
  
Exasperated, Danali sighed, carefully gathered her hair in one hand and swept it around her head to the opposite shoulder, away from Orophin. She had been self-conscious about it since meeting the Elves with their long, shimmering tresses, and although Orophin had pointed it out in a manner more curious than critical, she became angry again, and snapped back at him.  
  
" Well, I was not permitted to have long hair where I come from. Tis not my fault. If you do not like it, then go annoy someone elsewhere."  
  
This time she could tell that she had gotten to the Elf. Orophin sat back on his heels with a genuinely puzzled and rather hurt expression. He stared at the sullen girl for several moments, his head cocked to one side, his brow furrowed as he tried to comprehend the strange being sitting cross- legged before him. Finally, he merely shrugged and folded his own legs under him, leaning back against the mallorn and breathing in the crisp, starlit air.  
  
Both detachedly watched Rumil languidly make his way over to them, his face displaying a curious mixture of boredom and interest. He motioned for Orophin to move aside and immediately sat beside them in his oddly graceful manner, his movements balanced and controlled. He said nothing, simply allowing his eyes to travel around the flet, his hand loosely clasping a longbow which he casually draped over his knee. An awkward silence pervaded the moment, each of the trio not looking in the other's direction, a sparkling strand of meditation that slithered and dissolved into the moonlight.  
  
Orophin once more tentatively pondered about the mysterious creature seated beside him, and hesitantly tried to catch her eye, to no avail. The only memory he retained from their first encounter was the awful sorrow and fear radiating from her whole being, from the depths of her lifestrands, her soul.  
  
'Why will you not tell me what hurts you so?' Orophin pleaded silently as he regarded Danali with soft gaze. 'What were you fleeing, why were you running as if death was on your heels?'  
  
'What pain, what sorrow has done this to you?'  
  
Orophin slid noiselessly up to the morose girl and leaned against her back and over her shoulder as Rumil looked on with interest. Danali turned her head and drew in a tiny gasp at seeing the Elf so close, but made no other move, instead staring at him with a question in her eyes. Both remained transfixed for a time, curiously diving into the depths of the other's gaze, Orophin memorizing the girl by heart, Danali penetrating into his pure soul, an instant bond of enduring friendship forming between the two, though neither was aware of it.  
  
Orophin broke away first, a radiant smile slowly creeping over his face. What he did next, Danali would never forget.  
  
Orophin gently grasped the girl's upper arms, drew her toward him and hugged her. He held her tightly to his chest, his warm embrace melting all instinct of resistance in her, squeezing her so hard she could barely draw breath, but she cared not.  
  
Orophin released her after a spell, still smiling, then picked himself up and stretched, his arms straightening over his head, his toes raising him off the ground. Danali glanced around to see if anyone else had seen the little display, but only Haldir gave any notice. She stared at him as he uncharacteristically half-smiled, lifted an eyebrow and winked before turning to speak to his companions. For the second time that evening, she blushed.  
  
When Danali exhaled and leaned back again, she noticed Rumil staring at her, his penetrating pine-emerald eyes seeming to search her out to discover what they had missed the first time. To her surprise, he looked upon her kindly, almost gently, his gaze betraying no mockery or judgment. He turned away quickly after a few shimmering moments, a wall once more erected between the two, a mask disguising the emotions on his face. He briefly raised his hand to grasp Orophin's in a gesture of farewell, then swiftly rose and stalked off to sleep in a nearby flet.  
  
Before he departed for duty, Orophin kneeled beside Danali and leaned to whisper in her ear, a kind, confident tone ringing through his voice, an endearing smile gracing his lips.  
  
" I think your hair is beautiful, lady. Do not ever change it."  
  
Before Danali could respond in any way, Orophin had disappeared to an unseen post. She let out a shaky sigh and smoothly unfolded her legs, her hands reaching to the untouched plate beside her, a new interest in the simple albeit nourishing rations heaped on it. She tentatively tasted the bread, the cheese, and soon ended up eating it all, for she had actually been on the verge of starvation. Once she had finished the meal, she pushed the empty plate away and raised her eyes to the heavens splashed with tiny, pale lights. Her mind wandered back to her fellow fugitive comrades, and she entertained thoughts on their whereabouts, her hands absently tracing invisible patterns in the grain of the wood beneath her as she recollected the memories springing from the well of her intricate mind. For the first time in her life, Danali felt a sense of peace envelop her in it's velvet wings, tranquility easing over her tired being and covering her eyes with sleep as it slowly began to mend her torn lifethreads.  
  
Note: There's going to be more action soon, I promise, but right now I'm working on character development, so please keep reading. Orophin will give you a hug if you do. ( 


	8. Raven

Thanks a bunch to everyone who keeps reviewing. I hope you are enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it.  
  
Raven  
  
There was snow.  
  
Danali remembered glancing down at her feet trudging through the deep snow, her light shoes breaking through the ice-white crust to the frozen powder beneath, the cold shimmying up her legs to her stomach, then through to her hands and out her fingertips. She sniffed and looked up briefly as if to detect some danger on the chill wind, then dropped her head back down to her chest and crossed her arms over her belly in a vain attempt to retain warmth. She continued dragging on, one of a small automatic column of small automatic soldiers, each carrying her bow in a blue-grey fist, their midnight blue tunics barely showing from under their pitch-colored cloaks, the bare trees looming over and around, the outlines of their grotesque skeletons broken into jagged pieces by the swirling snow that flew into Danali's numb face. The sorry train of girls marched in silence, their breaths crystallizing into transparent cloudwisps, each young warrior trapped in her own personal hell.  
  
There was a raven.  
  
Danali remembered hearing it's coarse calls from somewhere high above the group, the rasping echoes narrowing through the avenue of cold and death to rest heavily on the girls' shoulders. It's voice suggested despair, it's black raiment mocked theirs.  
  
Suddenly, a loud, wrenching crash of a large branch breaking under the weight of the ice and snow shattered the frail peace, the loud noise reverberating throughout the dormant forest.  
  
Several of the weaker girls had already been on the edge of nervous panic, and the crack of the tree limb snapped their stony poise. Danali turned in time to see one girl gasp, spin about and raise her bow at the imaginary danger. Her arm jolted. Her hand slipped. The string twanged. The next Danali remembered was one of her comrades lying in the snow, her hands pressed on her lower belly, an arrow shaft protruding straight up from between her frozen grip, an eerily blank expression on her face as she calmly fought against the inevitable.  
  
One of the girls reached down to pull out the deeply imbedded shaft, but she was fiercely waved away by the dying child.  
  
There was blood.  
  
A thin trickle of crimson streamed out from the corner of the girl's slightly parted lips. She was flat on her back, her dark hair and body framed by pure white, her dim eyes growing even darker as the cloudy light slowly faded from them.  
  
Her cloak sprawled underneath her like great black wings.  
  
The raven crowed in the distance, then fell silent. Danali remembered it's harsh music serenading the winter. She remembered the ice-laden breeze, the glimmering snow sparkling in the weak sun, the silent girls gathered in a circle, their faces devoid of all emotion. She remembered seeing a final flicker in the glassy eyes, remembered hearing the calm, belabored breathing stop, remembered the raven opening it's wings and lifting off the branch to soar away in graceful spirals and disappear over the horizon.  
  
There was death, and there was life.  
  
  
  
When Danali opened her eyes again, a single, small flower greeted them, it's exquisite slender blossom resting elegantly on her chest. She picked it up by the stem and slowly twirled it, admiring it's simple beauty and absently wondering how it got there.  
  
When she shifted her eyes aside, the sight of the gently smiling Elf sitting beside her almost caused her to jump. She quickly raised her head and pushed away the blanket someone had pulled over her in the night, her surprise turning to mild irritation as she warily eyed the relaxed guard.  
  
Orophin continued to regard Danali cheerfully, his knees drawn up to his chest with his hands clasped snugly around them. An impish smile twitched the corner of his mouth as he spoke, his soft voice blending with the songbirds welcoming the dawn.  
  
"Good morning, Danali. Are you ready to go?"  
  
Danali swung her head around at the unfamiliar surroundings. This was not where she had fallen asleep. Her confusion escalated as Orophin's words registered.  
  
"What?"  
  
Orophin could not help but chuckle at the poor girl's bewilderment. He leaned forward and carefully gripped her cold hands in his warm ones.  
  
" Before you speak, first, my brother and I moved you to another flet last night so I could watch you. Second, Haldir wishes for Rumil, Lothir and I to guide you to our city so we may decide what is to be done with you. Do you understand?"  
  
Puzzled, Danali tried to sort out the Elves' intentions, but their ways of thinking were closed to her.  
  
" That's alright. You do not have to keep me here any longer. I'm better now, right?"  
  
Orophin's hands remained wrapped around hers.  
  
" I'm afraid you have to, Danali. Tis Haldir's orders that you not be allowed to leave."  
  
His voice was gentle, but the words incensed Danali. She felt anger begin to simmer within her once again. She snatched her hands from Orophin's and pushed him away, her tone nervous and high.  
  
" What?! Why? Why can't I leave to go where I will?"  
  
She was breathing heavily now, her face flushed and frightened, her voice quivering with emotion. Orophin tried to break into her terrified questions, his hands raised in a soothing gesture, his eyes calm, gently pleading with Danali to hush, but her indignant protests grew all the louder.  
  
Suddenly, she scrambled onto her feet and lunged for the edge of the flet, her legs moving unnaturally fast for freedom. Only Elvish reflexes could stop her, and she immediately began to violently struggle as two strong arms seized her around her chest and dragged her backwards, while a leg deftly swept her feet out from under her and dumped her on her back. She fell hard, but instantly swung her legs up, arched her back and popped up onto her feet again before Orophin shoved her down once more, this time firmly planting himself on her writhing form and waiting patiently for her to stop cursing Elves, Eru and the rest of the damn world for existing. He did not give up easily, but neither did she. Rage at the seeming betrayal blazed in her eyes as she yelled, and other Elves began to filter over to the dramatic scene.  
  
" I am not your prisoner. You cannot hold me here-"  
  
She tried to push Orophin off her, but he was heavier than he looked, and more stubborn as well. He tightly grasped her wrists and held them away from his face, all the while a calm determination hardening his features as he knelt with one knee pressing into her ribs. She began to tire, having met her match, but anger and pride caused her to prolong the struggle.  
  
"You will not hold me here!"  
  
With that, Danali made a final attempt and, mustering all her strength, managed to half lift herself and a startled Orophin off the ground before a new set of hands wrenched her arms roughly behind and over her head, pinning her to the floor and causing her to gasp as stabbing pains shot through her shoulders and spine. She quickly ceased her thrashing and laid still, her teeth clenched in agony, her eyes squeezed shut, small tears of frustration and pain sliding from their corners to drip on the clean wood below.  
  
A commanding voice broke through the layers of pain Danali was currently in.  
  
"Stop this foolishness at once and be still."  
  
Danali opened her eyes tentatively and met the no-nonsense gaze of the Marchwarden, his face hovering over hers, his hands still firmly pressing hers into the floor. Orophin was still perched on her stomach, his concerned eyes watching her intently as his brother spoke a little gentler to her.  
  
"If I release you, will you sit up and listen to me, and then do as I ask?"  
  
Danali felt her wounded pride throb and bleed. Her voice was desperate, tinged with bitterness.  
  
"I don't want to go to your pathetic city, and I am not under your command anyway."  
  
Haldir's eyes burned into her. He cocked an eyebrow and pulled her arms up straighter, causing her to wince. His smoothly dark voice remained soft and calm.  
  
"Have it your way then. We shall do this the hard way. Now, let it be known that while you are on my flet with my Guard, you are under my command. You will do as I say, and you will not debate it. You are going to Caras Galadhon, and you are not going to leave. I trust that you understand all I have said, because should you go against it for any reason, I will treat you as the prisoner you are, and I will have you bound and gagged. Any questions?"  
  
Danali rolled her head side to side, afraid that if she spoke, she would burst into tears and humiliate herself further. Haldir swiftly rose, along with Orophin, and heaved the girl to her feet, his hands still gripping her wrists painfully. When she stood, she caught Rumil staring at her, trying unsuccessfully to disguise his amusement at such a headstrong girl. She glared at him as venomously as she could , then gave it up and hung her head, a hopeless sigh escaping her lungs. Had she escaped the hell that was her past only to be ensnared in a worse future?  
  
Haldir released her arms and stood back. Danali refused to meet his searching gaze, her hair masking her face, her hands folded in front of her. Hot tears dripped onto the floor of the flet and splashed into circles and dots that soaked into the wood. Haldir moved around the girl and knelt before her. He rested one hand on his knee, the other reached out to take hers, the strong, callused hand contrasting with the small, soft one. Danali's voice was shaky and quiet, but her words were forceful.  
  
"Why did you not kill me when you had the chance?"  
  
No anger was left, only a pleading tone, a reflection of her much- abused spirit, an echo of the depression that was never far away. Haldir sighed and beckoned her eyes to meet his. As he looked into her face, he was taken aback by how much older she appeared than she actually was. Dark rings underscored her eyelids, her cheeks were drawn and pale, her eyes had seen more than they ever should. He suddenly understood the reasons for her behavior as he looked at her and saw a fellow warrior, a kindred spirit, a being who would rather die than be stripped of her liberty. He spoke gently to her, almost whispering.  
  
"I thought you had understood that you would not be harmed in any manner, lady. I am going to protect you. That is all I plan to do. Nothing more."  
  
He brought his other hand up to clasp the girl's.  
  
"You are safe here."  
  
  
  
  
  
As she readied for the journey to the Elven stronghold, Danali found a small pendant lying on her blanket, obviously left by Haldir as a token of peace. She picked up the silver piece and observed it closely. It was a bird in flight, a majestic singer to the stars. Danali felt a bittersweet sensation course through her memory and tighten her soul as she recognized the creature swinging from the delicate shining chain.  
  
It was a raven.  
  
The expression on her face was indecipherable for a few fleeting moments, then she resolutely fastened the gift around her neck and pressed it to her heart before gathering her things for departure.  
  
  
  
Note: Yes, I know the Elves don't like ravens, or "crebain" (they are spies for the dark powers in LOTR), but I thought it would complement Danali's conflicting emotions and darker layers nicely. 


	9. Fire and Rain

Note: Much as I would love to, I don't own any Elves. Just Danali, who will have to do for now. J.R.R. Tolkien created them, and his they shall remain.  
  
Thanks a million to everyone who reviews or has reviewed. I know this isn't the most thrilling adventure story you've ever read, and I appreciate you sticking with me. (  
  
Fire and Rain  
  
They had been raised in sterile grimness and stark isolation, soldiers being prepared for what great battles were to come, whatever they might be. Girls they were, and chosen so for their quiet resilience and inner strength. Trained from an early age to kill or be killed, their lives twisted and wrapped around the harsh rules of war, the children knew only violence, and fear, and death. Coldness was the only gleam in their eyes, suspicion and alertness their only friends. Unsmiling killing machines, the Master remarked of them once, with a sad pride. They're going to save this world and all the poor bastards in it, they are. And then they're going to die.  
  
He was a proud and battered man, the product of years of rigorous training in the great kingdom of Gondor; that is, until Gondor had fallen somewhat into a pitiable state of martial disrepair. The Steward grew careless in his vigilance, the people grew indifferent, and as time continued it's ineluctable march over the world, the Master became consumed with worry and frustration, until he decided to gather matters into his own hands. He would create an army that would eventually put an end to the despair that was slowly crushing Middle-earth in it's vise-like grip. Quietly, unnoticed by most, he would strike a fatal wound to the evil that the Elves had been unable to stop. He would become a god.  
  
Slowly, the delusions crept over and suffocated his mind until he believed he held the solution, the key to unlocking the unbreakable stone door of vengeance. He formulated a plan, an experiment of the riskiest degree, and once he had painstakingly chosen the women, he set it in motion. Nine months later, twenty strong girl babies were selected from his stock, taken from their weeping mothers to fulfill his chaotic dreams.  
  
He could not create Elves, but he could come close.  
  
  
  
Danali was trained proficiently in the martial arts. At three years of age she could wield a bow and arrow; at seven years she could hit a bulls-eye three in a row, rapid fire. The sword was second nature to her, the short knives were simple handling. By the age of twelve, the girls were as lethal as the famed soldiers of Gondor. They were regularly dispatched to hunt small bands of Orcs and often returned successful, only slightly bloodied and bearing gruesome trophies of their missions. The raids became games, competitions among the young warriors for the heady inebriation of glory. Day by day, the woods were rid of a few more Orcs, and the girls' lust for bloodshed grew, to the delight of their masters, their overlords, the ones they hated and loved most.  
  
They were ruled with an iron fist. They learned early on that crying was a weakness reserved for the timid souls unfit for survival, and also learned to hate.  
  
They were taught to speak fluently in the tongue of the Fair and Ancient, were taught to revere the Elves as gods, and were pressured to emulate the great deeds of their immortal cousins in everything. They were taught as well to regard themselves with disdain, and grew accustomed to having insults hurled at their spirits. Every warped perception the Master held of the world was imprinted on the young women's malleable hearts, and they soon found themselves unable to wrench free of the cold chains wrapped around their souls, their identities stolen from them, never to be returned.  
  
They were taught to kill.  
  
Their souls were knotted and warped into hideous remnants of the beautiful creatures they could have been, their minds were spattered with blood.  
  
  
  
One evening, when she was fourteen years old, Danali was denied her place in the hunting party for supposed insubordination. She calmly watched the girls glide away and melt into the twilit forest from her doorstep, then blankly walked inside and released a crippled pet rabbit from it's cage. She fed it some carrots, then, pretending it was the Master, bludgeoned it to death with a broken tree branch.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
The footsteps lightly crunching on the golden leaves were the only sounds in the still wood as the small party marched through the Naith of Lorien en route to the great tree city of Caras Galadhon.  
  
Orophin and Lothir walked in front, their soft conversation contrasting with the awkward silence behind them. Rumil's head remained ramrod straight, his eyes staring ahead at the leaf-strewn path before them, his mouth set in thought. Danali shuffled beside him, her feet scattering the multi-hued leaves in little eddies to the side of the road. Eyes downcast, she pretended to observe with interest the colorful ground, but instead grew bored and began multiplying numbers in her head. She did not notice the group had stopped until she walked into Lothir, who almost toppled backwards from the force.  
  
"Nine by twelve is one-hundred eight!" She blurted out harshly, startled. Her eyes grew wide upon seeing the perplexed Elves standing around her, the hint of a smile forming on Orophin's face. His rich moss-colored eyes danced.  
  
" And eight by four is thirty-two. The day grows long, and night stalks us. Would you care to take a rest, Dani?"  
  
Taken slightly aback, Danali could only nod her head slowly. Orophin grinned playfully and flipped a lock of her hair over her shoulder as he swept past her to hunt for firewood, Lothir in tow. Danali remained frozen until Rumil waved a hand in front of her eyes and bid her set down her pack. Her mind continued to swirl ponderously as she helped Rumil prepare the camp.  
  
They finished early, and Rumil sat down cross-legged on the forest floor amid the crisp wafers of gold to search his pack for food. Danali wandered over to a sturdy log and carefully rested her weary legs, observing the weeping trees shedding their tears of gold and red to splash on the ground. A simple tune leaped into her head and she began humming softly to the evening until a soft voice interrupted her mind's wanderings.  
  
" What song is that, lady? I have not heard it."  
  
The humming ceased. Danali's gaze crept languidly downwards until it fell upon the inquisitive Elf. He was turned to face her, his grave eyes calmly searching hers. She blushed.  
  
" I know not. I made it up."  
  
Rumil's somber countenance lifted a little, and Danali was relieved to see no sign of amusement on his features.  
  
" Sing some more. I am sure even the trees are enchanted."  
  
The blush deepened and spread. Danali concentrated on her folded hands and cleared her throat to change the subject. Singing had been ridiculed at Nencoras.  
  
" Have the Elves lived in these woods long?" Her curiosity was genuine, and she had been wondering about the enigmatic beings lately.  
  
Rumil turned back around, placed his pack on the ground and thoughtfully walked over and settled himself on the log close to Danali. His eyes shimmered wistfully as he spoke, staring vacantly into the mystical dusk.  
  
" For as long as the trees can remember. I have never known any other home, and I have not been far from it's borders in all my years."  
  
His right hand slipped up to rest lightly on the glossy bark of a tree behind him, and his voice mingled with the placid breeze.  
  
" My heart belongs here."  
  
Danali lowered her eyes and turned her head to gaze off in the opposite direction. An enchanting scent of pine and autumn gently swirled around the two, and a reflective stillness lightly reclined in the small clearing.  
  
The peace was shattered by Orophin and Lothir busily piling wood in the fire ring and striking stones to create a spark. Rumil nimbly rose and was soon parceling out dinner to the companions, which was hungrily devoured around the cheerful little blaze in short time. Afterwards, Orophin volunteered to stand first watch if Rumil would finally tell him of the feast he had missed. Rumil rolled his eyes and consented, and soon the cool dark of night descended to blanket the world in shade as Rumil began describing the celebration.  
  
Lothir reclined against a nearby tree and carved into a thick branch while Danali and Rumil reposed against another. Orophin's eyes were fixed with rapt attention upon Rumil as he spoke. The soft Elven voice lulled the girl's senses, and her eyes grew heavy with slumber. She gathered her cloak sleepily about her and sighed as her lids closed and her body relaxed. She pressed into the warm body next to her and slipped into dreams tinged with starlight.  
  
Rumil seemed not to notice the peaceful form slumbering on him until he finished recounting the festival and bid his brother goodnight. He sighed and pulled a large grey-blue blanket from his pack that shimmered strangely in the crystal moonlight, carefully draped it over him and the girl, and closed his own eyes in Elven meditation, his breathing deep and measured.  
  
The moonrays dissolved into Orophin's eyes and accented the light that burned in them. The penetrating silver-green gaze remained steady on the sleeping companions, then wandered heavenwards to greet the cold glowing orb as it traversed it's path amongst the glittering points of white in the velvet deeps. The wings of night found Orophin singing softly to the stars as they folded against the earth to sleep.  
  
  
  
  
  
Another note (To all who care): This is not a romance. It never will be. I simply don't believe Elves are as reserved as Men about displaying affection to each other or others, for that matter. The Elves are being nice, and Danali is too screwed up anyway to fall in love. There. That's my annoying little disclaimer. No more, I promise. ( 


	10. In Golden Melodies

Disclaimer: Come on now, we all know who the real genius is here. Thank you, Mr. Tolkien, for inventing Elves as we love them.  
  
Sorry this took so long. I have decided that homework was invented by teachers who didn't want their students to do anything creative with their time. I f you received three hours of it a night, you'd feel the same way too. And, as always, I would be much obliged to those who review; I'll give you an Elf if you do.  
  
In Golden Melodies.  
  
  
  
When Danali awoke amongst the scented pine needles again, the sun had already begun it's journey into the sapphire reaches of the heavens. She slowly stirred and rubbed her eyes, which were still leaden with sleep, and slightly pushed up against the warm, comfortable mass that she had been resting on, intent on falling back into blissful darkness. It took a few moments for her to register that the mass was breathing and shifting as well, and she swiftly straightened and turned her head to stare into the questioning gaze of Rumil, her hands clutching the edge of the blanket with the tension of embarrassment, her cheeks slowly turning a shade of rose.  
  
Rumil lifted an eyebrow.  
  
"Sleep well, did we?"  
  
Danali muttered something incomprehensible before turning back to rise to her feet and gather her belongings. She smoothly pushed the blanket aside and crawled over to the dark grey pack resting under a neighboring tree, her eyes still pointedly remaining forward and away from the strange Elf who was now shaking his head and folding the blanket into a tight square. She rifled through the satchel a little before pulling out a neatly wrapped packet of herbed bread, the last of the few rations she had fled with. She was pleased to discover that the small loaf was still soft, and fell promptly to tearing off pebble-sized bites and chewing them with relish, her thoughts focused on the present, unable to penetrate the barriers she had unconsciously placed in her mind to block any encroachment of memory or prescience.  
  
She sensed a curious gaze traveling over her shoulder and slowly turned her head, food in mid-chew, to stare innocently at a blank Rumil, who was kneeling in the dew-frosted pine needles with a steaming bowl in his hands, a dancing smile shimmering in his eyes and around his lips. He lowered his eyes and nodded at the bread, then raised them again.  
  
"Good?"  
  
Danali nodded sheepishly and resumed chewing, noticing as she turned her head again that Orophin had come up behind her to the opposite side and was smiling broadly with a mischievous glint in his gaze. She stared at him evenly for a moment, then turned, tore off a generous portion of bread and wordlessly offered it over her shoulder without looking back at him. His smile grew wider as he satisfactorily accepted the fluffy morsel, popped it in his mouth and sauntered back to the camp to make last preparations alongside Lothir.  
  
Rumil handed the hot stew to Danali with a grin. She accepted the savory- smelling concoction silently and tentatively ventured a few mouthfuls before looking back at the patiently waiting Elf and swallowing.  
  
"It's good," she stated quietly. A small, warm smile graced Rumil's features, and a mysterious gleam flit into his eyes as he looked straight into hers.  
  
"I'm glad you like it, lady."  
  
"Call me Danali."  
  
His hand came up to his chest in light apology, and he bowed his head slightly.  
  
"Danali."  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
As the majestic trees of Caras Galadhon towered before her, Danali could not remember a moment when more emotions were churning in her soul. She could sense the music strongly here, an ancient melody that glistened in gold waves and rushed around her being, bathing it in indefinable harmonies and arcane hymns to the timeless flows of immortal rhythms that shivered in the silver-golden leaves. She had sensed the shift in timeflow as soon as she had wandered into the forest on that fateful night, but the change had increased tenfold with the small party's approach to the gates, which had been opened at a word from Rumil. The night air was settling on the tranquil land as the travelers passed through into the enchanted realm.  
  
Lothir took his leave soon after, departing down another path and whistling to the songbirds as he walked off into the dwindling twilight.  
  
The Elves seemed to realize what the girl must have been feeling, and they strolled in silence through the city of flets, Orophin humming to the faint snatches of ethereal song drifting down from the trees, his voice eerily light and rich. Danali in turn began absentmindedly singing along quietly, and she blushed deeply when she realized the admiring stares from her traveling comrades on her back and side. As she was turning back, she caught a bemused grin on Orophin's face and a humorous tone in his voice.  
  
" Ah. She can fight and sing. I shall keep her forever as my own personal watchbird."  
  
He seemed to not have noticed the annoyed looks cast his direction by both Danali and Rumil, but instead bounced along ahead of the group as his home drew near, pointing out to Danali the flet high above in which resided the Lord and Lady themselves, as well as his and his brothers' own flet close by, nearly as high up as the royal one, a thin, brilliant strip of red cloth across the entrance designating it as the residence of the Captain of the Guard.  
  
Danali stared at the narrow flight of stairs with trepidation, as she had never been so high off the ground before. Orophin was already halfway up the intimidating climb when he turned and beckoned to a half-paralyzed Danali to follow. Her hands were tightly wrapped around the exquisitely carved railings, and her legs refused to move.  
  
Rumil gently pried her hands away from the handholds and partly carried her up the stairway to where Orophin patiently stood. Both Elves grasped her hands and led her the rest of the way to the welcoming tree-dwelling, their voices soothing the terrified girl until they stood upon the threshold and bid her unclench her eyes.  
  
Danali's gaze swept around a small albeit comfortable house that boasted a few handsome pieces of furniture, including a round darkwood table and chairs, and a couple of wicker chairs complete with deep green cushions surrounded by some rare bound books strewn about the floor. A partial- partition divided the living area from a cozy sleeping room, where three plush mats lay on the floor, each with a blanket neatly folded at it's foot and a tempting pillow at it's head. It was to one of these beds that Danali was led and set down on. A sudden weariness overwhelmed her, and she leaned back into the warm softness, her eyes already melting into sleep as the brothers removed her shoes and pulled the blanket around her neck. She felt a hand smooth some stray strands of hair from her forehead, then lift away as she grasped for it. Her voice murmured dreamily with a drowsy concern.  
  
"You will not leave me here alone?"  
  
Orophin's hand tightened around her own briefly before pulling away, and she felt a sense of peace invade her spirit as he whispered in the calm moonlit dark.  
  
" Never."  
  
Light Elven footsteps retreated into the other room, and she heard the brothers conversing in quiet tones before she slipped into the sleep of the innocent, golden melodies of secret worlds lulling her soul to rest among the stars.  
  
  
  
And the saga slooowly continues to unfold. 


	11. Crimson and Snow

Yeah, yeah, I know, it's been how many weeks? *Shrugs* I'm a student. Sorry. Also, a huge writer's block fell from the sky and crushed my hand. It hurt. A lot. Anyway, I'm going out on a limb with this chapter. Just keep in mind that even Tolkien wrote about Elves who were not exactly angelic.  
  
Disclaimer: Danali is mine, my own, my precious. Unfortunately, the Elves aren't, which is sad because I'm addicted to them. Ahem.  
  
Oh, and I don't care what Peter Jackson says, Haldir Lives!!!! Go TTT!!!!  
  
Crimson and Snow  
  
When Danali awoke next, the late morning sun was flowing into her eyes and around the room in straight rods of gold through a small round window in the wall. She settled back to sleep again before the actual time of day registered in her half-awake brain, causing her to bolt upright in her bed. She listened intently for other signs of life in the treehouse, straining her ears to hear even the light footfall of an Elf, but ended up hearing nothing. She shrugged and slipped from between the blankets to kneel on the smooth floor, shaking her head to clear the dreams from her mind. She glimpsed a splash of color at the foot of the bed, and crawled over to inspect the garment. A sneer involuntarily turned her lips as she saw it was a dress. A beautiful, flowing robe that shimmered, but a dress nonetheless. Danali despised dresses almost as much as she despised the brainless maidens who wore them while dancing through the meadows and giggling moronically. She felt a stab of disappointment that neither of the brothers had thought she would actually prefer something more..practical.  
  
She sighed and pushed herself over to where her pack was resting. After a few moments of frantic digging, she pulled out a crumpled yet clean tunic and leggings, both of pure black and midnight blue, and smiled crookedly. This was an outfit for night missions, but it would have to do.  
  
She dressed and padded around the partition to the main room, but there was still no one to be found. Puzzled, Danali made her way over to a silver basin filled with water and splashed the clear liquid on her face, relishing it's brisk thinness, and dried her face with her sleeve. The tiny kitchen had been casually cleaned, showing signs of a modest breakfast taken earlier. She stood and looked around the rest of the dwelling, noting with a tiny bit of amusement that the entire dwelling was obviously inhabited by three bachelors who weren't often there to begin with. The faint music of songbirds filtered into the house and floated gracefully through the air.  
  
She found a loaf of bread lying on the counter and tore off a piece, then proceeded out the door to be greeted by the awesome spectacle of Caras Galadhon by day. Danali stood rooted to the spot for several minutes as she took in the hundreds of tree-dwellings arranged evenly in the towering trees, as well as the fluid stairways that twisted and wound around the great mallyrn, and seemed to go everywhere. A soft light penetrated through the dense canopy, giving the Elven realm an ethereal yet peaceful glow. She inhaled deeply and started down the staircase to the forest floor far below, trying not to glance over the edge of the steps, instead drinking in the beauty of the woodland kingdom.  
  
Danali reached the foot of the stairs and glanced around warily at the citizens strolling peacefully among the leaves, their many voices light and mellifluous in the morning atmosphere. Feeling adventurous, she set out to see the sights she had missed the night before, and was having a grand time of it when the fact that she was thoroughly lost sent a sinking sensation coursing through her stomach and throat, and she realized as well that she had gone farther from the gates than she intended. She turned on her heel and flew off at a fairly quick clip back the way she came, but Danali was unused to dense forest, and did not contemplate that Elves could step out suddenly from behind the trees until she had smacked into one, a tall, willowy lady who gasped as the girl, desperate for balance, grasped a glittering jewel from around her throat as she fell backwards. She struggled to her feet and helped the Elven woman to her feet, apologizing profusely, unaware that she had absentmindedly slipped the necklace into her belt. She was confused when the lady held out her hand and began demanding the jewelry back, and started to back away, angering the group of Elves further.  
  
Danali stood in shock for several agonizing moments until one of the male Elves the woman had been with stepped forward threateningly, a torrent of angry Elvish coursing from his mouth toward her, as another reached for her. Terrified out of her mind, Danali spun around and sprinted away, not bothering to wait and discover what the disgruntled Elf was intending to do to her. Her keen ears picked up footfalls behind her, and she quickened her pace, blindly dodging trees and bushes, not caring where her panicked feet were leading her any longer.  
  
She darted behind a thick tree and tripped on a huge, sinuous root, thrusting her hands forward and twisting around. She gasped as a beautiful silver pendant inlaid with crystal stars tumbled out into the leaves, it's brilliance seeming to mock her. A sinking fire coursed through her stomach as she swept up the necklace and fingered it, realization dawning on her. She could still hear the Elf in pursuit, and decided to run to him and give back the jewel, but she had lost all sense of direction and was imagining what frightening punishments were inflicted on thieves in Lorien. Her feet instead ran the opposite direction.  
  
She burst out into a clearing of sorts, and stumbled head-on into Rumil's arms, gasping. The startled Elf reeled back, but managed to keep Danali's hands firmly locked in his, his face and eyes full of question and concern as she struggled to break away, casting frightened glances over her shoulder and talking unintelligibly in a high-pitched voice while holding out a pendant on a chain. Rumil and Orophin looked quickly at each other and set the water buckets they had been carrying on the ground. Rumil knew only snatches of Common Speech, but he could make out something about accidents and a necklace. He shook her roughly several times as Orophin quickly grabbed the pendant from her hand and examined it. Danali finally calmed down enough to speak in Elvish, but was interrupted by a low groan from Orophin. Rumil's head whipped around. Orophin was staring at the chain.  
  
"Is this what I think it is?"  
  
Rumil held his brother's eyes for a pause, then slowly settled an exasperated gaze on Danali, his hard eyes commanding her to talk. She began haltingly to explain the confusion, but didn't get far before the angry Elf stormed into the clearing and saw a startled Orophin holding the necklace.  
  
Danali whimpered and darted behind Rumil as the Elf advanced ominously on Orophin, who spread his hands in a gesture of peace and began speaking in a soothing voice. The two held a tense discourse for a brief eternity, then the Elf snatched the pendant from Orophin's hands and began pointing at Danali and talking of little thieves who should be punished, and what was a mortal girl doing in the wood unwatched anyway? Orophin continued to apologize calmly, but to no avail. Rumil turned and gathered the wide-eyed Danali to his side protectively as the discussion heated up, then started as the enraged Elf suddenly shoved Orophin to the side and reached for Danali, muttering something about punishing her himself if these common archers would not. He moved with blurring speed to grab the girl's shoulder.  
  
Rumil was faster. His arms shot out and shoved the other away as he stepped to shield Danali with his body. She stumbled back and fell, her hands crushing the frail leaves, her racing heart leaping into her throat as the voices grew into shouts. She remembered later feeling the purple spark rise in her mind, remembered the metallic taste on the back of her tongue, the taste of rage, the dreaded sensation of hate that swelled uncontrollably through her being, as well as the instinctive loyalty that bloomed fiercely through her mind and heart.  
  
All she could vaguely see through the red mist as she leaped to the Elf attacking Rumil was Orophin desperately trying to hold the two off each other, his normally beautiful voice strained and rough as he prevented one from tackling the other. She grabbed the strange Elf's right arm and wrenched it away from Rumil in a single, swift motion. The Elf cried out and lashed around with his free arm, which Danali easily ducked and pinned to the one she already held. She was met with a fierce kick to the stomach, and a bolt of pain shot through her and stole her breath. Instinctively, she twisted the Elf's arm the rest of the way around, snapping it in two places before flopping to the ground as a wave of colored sparks swirled behind her eyes and a thin rivulet of crimson streamed from her mouth.  
  
'What have I done?' she thought, as strong Elven arms slid under her and lifted her from the ground into unconsciousness. 


	12. Confirmations

Disclaimer: Seriously, guys, do I need to keep doing this?  
  
I love my Elves.  
  
Confirmations  
  
  
  
A swirl of darkness whirled about Danali's mind until it coalesced into a tangible reality. She tasted the thin metallic essence on the back of her throat, and the timethreads began to pull her up through the depths of her dreams into light.  
  
She felt a hand gently smoothing her hair away from her forehead as she surfaced into a light slumber, and heard whisper-soft singing calling her from sleep as she opened her eyes. Orophin's concerned eyes met hers, and when he realized she was awake, his face broadened slightly into a tiny, albeit warm, smile. His hand continued to stroke her head.  
  
"How do you feel?"  
  
His tone was soothing and his smile pleasant, but Danali saw worry swimming in his eyes, as well as a resigned weariness as he spoke. She gingerly propped herself on her elbows and saw that he was sitting cross- legged by her mat holding a tiny ball of fur in his lap with one hand, his long fingers absently stroking it. She looked into his eyes and nodded, then turned her gaze back to the fuzzy lump napping in his lap.  
  
Orophin smiled adoringly as he glanced down at the kitten, then raised his eyes again to Danali's and dropped his voice to a whisper.  
  
"Have you met my Dulin?"  
  
Danali shook her head, her eyes glimmering with expectancy and a simple joy as Orophin carefully scooped a very drowsy kitten from his lap and deposited it proudly on Danali's chest. She immediately cupped her hands protectively around it as it yawned and stretched, it's tiny pink tongue sliding from it's mouth and curling back in, it's tiny claws unsheathing. Orophin looked pleased upon observing the delight on Danali's face as Dulin clambered all over her hands and chest, it's kitten energy beginning to flow through it's veins again. He leaned over and ran a finger down it's furry back.  
  
"Haldir brought her back with him. He found her in a deserted camp a few miles outside the border. How she survived is known only to the Valar."  
  
Danali stiffened as the previous day's events suddenly flooded into her head, and her eyes widened in fear as she remembered the angry Elf who had tried to hurt her. Remembered that she had hurt him instead. A sinking numbness seized her and she found it hard to think.  
  
"Haldir is here?"  
  
Orophin immediately heard the concern and fear in her tone, and swiftly bent to sooth her.  
  
"Yes, Dani, he arrived last night. You have been asleep for two days, and now it is early evening."  
  
The expression of fear on her face incited him to calm her further.  
  
"He was to come last night anyhow. Danali, look at me."  
  
Orophin grasped her sweating hands, which were wrapped around the kitten, and searched her face until he caught her eye.  
  
"You are not going to be punished, do you understand? Ever. I will never allow it."  
  
Danali swallowed heavily and managed to croak out an "alright" before lowering her head to watch Dulin's antics. Orophin eyes shimmered conspiratorially, and he leaned over once more to speak in a low voice.  
  
"But next time, perhaps you might choose to anger someone other than the resident Balrog of Lorien."  
  
A half-moon smile curved his lips and a chuckle ascended into his throat as Danali grinned widely, a giggle threatening to escape from between her fingers. The two held each other's mirthful gaze for a few moments, then the lightness shattered as she heard footsteps on the threshold and two voices, one a little deeper than the other. She swung her head to the side as Haldir leaned against the entryway, his arms folded across his broad chest. He glanced at Danali, then tilted his head to the side and motioned to Orophin.  
  
"Go eat. I wish to speak with the girl alone."  
  
Orophin smiled encouragingly at her as he gathered himself up and stepped lightly out of the small room. Danali heard the familiar sounds of cooking coming from the adjacent room, and quiet voices sharing small talk. She sighed and forced her eyes to meet Haldir's stern face. He slowly kneeled close to her mat and gently stroked Dulin, then lifted his hand to under her chin and turned her head to fully face his.  
  
"Tell me what happened."  
  
Tears trailed silently down her cheeks as she related the incident, her proud eyes shining and her voice strong until she recounted how she broke the Elf's arm. She wavered and buried her head in her knees, pressing her wet eyes into Dulin's fur.  
  
"He was trying to hurt Rumil."  
  
Haldir's expression remained carefully neutral, his face stony as he wordlessly stood up and walked out. Danali sniffed and unfolded her knees to cradle Dulin, her whole attention focused on the anxious kitten.  
  
She was quite a beautiful cat, her patchwork coat glistening with brown, tan and burnt orange, and her paws glittering like snow. Danali was fascinated by the tiny creature, for she had never seen a cat before, and the teartracks on her face slowly dried as she played with the purring wonder.  
  
She and Dulin were right in the middle of an exciting game of Stalk- the-Hand when she heard an agitated voice rise from the other room and froze. She discerned Orophin's voice lifting in anger.  
  
" No, we will discuss this now. You are not sending the girl away because of an unfortunate turn of events."  
  
Danali felt her heart shrink.  
  
"Oh? And what would you have me do, Orophin, what? Are you aware of the amount of trouble I had to talk my way out of? That I had to talk you out of? How in hell do you expect me to remedy this? We don't even know where this child comes from, for all we know she could be a native of some dark crevice in Mount Doom!"  
  
The one thing Danali noticed was that Rumil sounded more frightened than angry.  
  
A chair scraped along the floor, and Orophin's tone rose to a shout.  
  
" And what would you know? Sometimes you act like you hail from there yourself."  
  
Haldir's voice cut in.  
  
"That's enough, Orophin."  
  
Orophin's voice dropped to a low, frustrated pitch.  
  
"No, it's not. If there is one thing you're not going to do, it's sending a helpless girl to fend on her own."  
  
"Helpless?! What did you just call her? After she snapped the court advisor's arm like a twig? That's the problem, brother, she's not helpless, she's dangerous."  
  
"Damn it, Rumil, the girl was trying to protect you! Daethil picked that particular battle, not her."  
  
Rumil interrupted his brother viciously, his voice controlled and menacing.  
  
"Oh me, how thoughtful of her. Is she going to come rushing in here now to defend me from you?"  
  
Danali slumped to the floor and squeezed her eyes shut as she wished with all her might that she would disappear. Haldir cut into the argument, his voice solid and calm, but tinged with weariness and a tight control.  
  
" First, I wish for you both to keep in mind that I am being held accountable for this, not you. Second, Danali is not to be blamed in any way for what happened. Orophin is right. Daethil is the guiltier one here. This was an accident and an unfortunate event, nothing more. This discussion is over. Orophin, sit down."  
  
Rumil began to raise his voice in protest, but was silenced by a tired and frustrated Haldir for the rest of the night.  
  
"So for the love of Eru, Rumil, shut up."  
  
Danali felt a thick tension seep into the air, and although she could not see, she could guess what expressions were on the Elves' faces as they silently finished their meal. She cringed as Haldir walked into the room a few minutes later without glancing at her. He went to the far mat and pulled some bedclothes from underneath it, then sat down with his back to her and began undressing. Dulin mewed plaintively from beneath Danali's sheets, and Haldir turned quickly to look at her, his face softening in guilt.  
  
"You heard all of that, didn't you?"  
  
Danali merely stared back at him. He sighed deeply, rose and walked over to her. He knelt down and carefully plucked the grouchy Dulin from Danali's lap, his large hands easily cradling her. He crooned softly at the kitten, and she mewed back. Danali shrunk behind the sheet.  
  
"I-is he alright?"  
  
Haldir looked up sharply as if from a daze, then nodded slowly in understanding.  
  
"He is alright."  
  
Danali's eyes swung down. The Marchwarden reached over and gently pulled the chain around her neck from beneath her tunic, revealing the silver raven. He fingered it thoughtfully for several minutes, his brow creased in concentration. Danali dared to venture the question that had been torturing her.  
  
"What are you going to do with me?"  
  
Haldir's gaze lingered on the pendant for several more moments, then he sighed again, let the necklace drop and gently kissed a startled Danali on her forehead. He smiled reassuringly at the girl, his eyes glimmering with Elvish light.  
  
"Keep you."  
  
He got up and walked back to resume preparing for bed. Danali stared at his back, then watched him lie down to sleep, Dulin also settling down for the night on his pillow. She huddled in the sheets for a long time, a maelstrom of thoughts flying through her mind, a storm of emotions swirling in her heart. Finally, she swept back the covers and padded into the living area where the two brothers sat silently, each occupied with his own thoughts. Both looked up at her entrance. Orophin gave her a small smile, but she was struck by the hurt and cold in Rumil's eyes. She inhaled deeply and stepped over to him, her eyes levelly meeting his. He spoke quietly.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
Danali could only whisper.  
  
"Peace."  
  
Rumil stared at the child-woman standing before him, her arms at her sides, her red-rimmed eyes full of pain. Without a word, he set aside the book he had been reading, stood and embraced her tightly. The ice melted. She threw her arms around his neck and wept helplessly, her cheek pressed into his shoulder, her tears staining his tunic and hair. He stroked her hair and whispered into her heart.  
  
"We shall help each other, you and I."  
  
  
  
* Author prances by, singing, "This is not a romance.by the way." * 


	13. Willow

Disclaimer: It's actually a quite simple little mutual agreement: I own Danali, Tolkien owns everyone else. Nice, huh?  
  
Willow  
  
Nencoras was nestled within a deep, ancient forest, the age of which none knew. Few men or beasts ever entered it anymore, providing an unparalleled secrecy from the outside world. The timesongs flowed freely here, their melodies and rhythms unchanged from their conception. It was here that Danali was raised, was trained, and ultimately escaped from. It was here that her life began, and where part of it ended.  
  
The children loved the forest, and when they were not out on raids, they would walk it's sheltered paths and escape into the memories of the trees. Often they would rest cradled in the massive roots, their eyes half closed and their lips murmuring the Elven tongues. For here, they were protected, here no danger could touch them, no death could slip it's cold, dry fingers around their souls as long as the trees whispered peace into their fragile hearts.  
  
There was one tree in particular that Danali loved; a giant willow on the bank of a small brook that trickled from the nearby mountains. She would arrange her small body among it's roots so that her feet dangled in the crystal water, and place her hands on the knobby limbs protruding around her. She loved feeling the life-pulse that met her fingertips, loved hearing the rich harmony of the willow's voice in her head, the songs it sang in cadence with the flowing water. Sometimes she would sing back to it, and feel the warmth course through her hands with greater strength. She eventually learned all the songs of the willow, and would hum them to herself during a particularly brutal weapons drill, or at night when the moonlight streamed across her bed. No one knew of her friendship with the trees, nor did she speak of it.  
  
The night of her escape, the night her best friend died, the brook was the first place she fled to, her ravaged mind seeking out the comfort of willow one last time. She stayed until the cries of the hunted and the heavy footfalls of the hunters grew too close. She could still see the man stumble out of the underbrush, as if in slow motion, his bow raised, his face contorted in cold fury. She spun away, too late, too late, and waited for the arrow to find it's mark. When nothing happened, she turned to see the arrow embedded in a thick branch, the man writhing in the shallow water as the life was slowly squeezed from him by a sinewy root. His eyes burned holes in hers as he grasped desperately, futilely at the crushing root, his mouth a gaping cave of silence. She wrenched her eyes closed and heard a faint, silvery groan that tore her heart and made tears struggle from the corners of her eyes. The willow had...  
  
Saved her.  
  
She gasped raggedly and sprinted from the area, her heart threatening to burst from her chest, her mind screaming in circles, around and around and-  
  
  
  
" Then Fingon the valiant, son of Fingolfin, resolved to heal the feud that divided the Noldor, before their enemy should be ready for war; for the earth trembled in the Northlands with the thunder of the forges of Morgoth underground."  
  
Orophin looked up expectantly from the old book in his lap that he had been reading out of and sighed. Danali was sprawled comfortably in the chair across from him, playing with Dulin and focusing more on the kitten's antics than the history of the world. Her hand trailed a piece of string tantalizingly around her lap, then jerked it swiftly out of reach when Dulin pounced at the last moment, occasionally causing her to giggle like a child. The game continued until Danali finally noticed the impatient silence emanating from the Elf sitting across from her. She glanced up sheepishly and suppressed a grin.  
  
Orophin's face was dead serious, but his eyes sparkled as he regarded the girl and her cat. A smile threatened to pull at the corners of his mouth, and it was all he could do to keep the laughter from his voice.  
  
"Shall I continue, or am I interrupting you?"  
  
Dulin mewed innocently at Orophin, and Danali raised a hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle. Orophin continued in his mock-annoyed manner, his tone cool and airy as he addressed the kitten.  
  
"Oh, well, in that case, please accept my humblest apologies. I shall trouble you no further with my frivolous little stories. Please, carry on."  
  
With that, he got up and bowed formally to Dulin before turning and making as if to walk away. Danali sat up quickly, mustering all her will to fight the stream of laughs that threatened to spill from her.  
  
"Orophin, wait."  
  
He turned slowly, and with an air of righteous hurt, sniffed, "Yes?"  
  
Danali struggled to keep a straight face.  
  
"I think Dulin needs a respite from all this wondrous storytelling, you know, what with it being nice outside and all. Perhaps she would like to go for a walk, or, say..." Her eyes strayed to the longbows lying on the table.  
  
"Go for a little target practice?"  
  
An amused smile crept over Orophin's face as he closed his eyes and shook his head resignedly. He tilted his head toward the bows.  
  
"The day my brothers let you touch their bows will be the day Harad freezes over."  
  
Danali widened her eyes and adopted her best pleading face.  
  
"What about yours?"  
  
Orophin raised his eyebrows, walked back to his chair and picked up the book, aware of Danali's disappointment, which she was trying to hide under a wily glint in her eyes. He flipped through the pages languidly while the girl sulkily slumped back in her seat, musing to himself. The histories were rather tortuous, but he had always found the stories of his peoples' past fascinating, and he did not understand why she was so bored. After all, he smirked, he could be reading about the geography of Beleriand to her. That part practically guaranteed sleep anytime. He chanced a glimpse at Danali, who was humming softly to a curled-up Dulin. He allowed a small smile to creep up on him, and lowered the book.  
  
" Do you enjoy singing?"  
  
Danali shyly met his eyes and nodded. The Elf gazed at her thoughtfully, his green eyes sparkling with life and mystery.  
  
"Then perhaps I shall teach you a lay. I think I know just the one." He turned and pulled another book from the small pile on the adjacent table. "I do not have it all learned by heart, but I am sure it will please you."  
  
Danali waited patiently while Orophin found the page, then became puzzled as he suddenly looked up at her.  
  
"It is long, and you must promise me you will also hear the spoken story whence it comes with a willing mind."  
  
Danali quickly murmured in agreement, her eyes curious, her attention rapt as he began in a soft, enchanting tenor.  
  
"Lo! The golden dragon of the God of Hell the gloom of the woods of the world now gone the woes of Men, and weeping of Elves fading faintly down forest pathways, is now to tell, and the name most tearful of Niniel the sorrowful, and the name most sad of Thalion's son Turin o'erthrown by fate.  
  
Lo! Hurin Thalion in the hosts of war Was whelmed, what time the white-clad armies Of Elfinesse were all to ru-"  
  
The ethereal song was abruptly cut off as Haldir and Rumil walked through the doorway, talking animatedly. Orophin smiled, then gestured for Danali to wipe the irritated frown off her face until she grudgingly complied. He playfully tugged on Rumil's cloak as he passed.  
  
"How was the court report, dear brother?"  
  
Rumil continued to the kitchen without looking back.  
  
"Better for you not being there."  
  
Orophin chuckled, swung his legs over and out of his chair and jumped up.  
  
"Well, I see it put one of you in a marvelous mood, now what about the other?"  
  
His soothing voice traveled to Haldir as he leaned against the wall with a questioning gaze. Haldir could not resist an amused smile as he busily pulled bowls from cabinets to prepare the midday meal. All these centuries together, and his brothers' verbal sparring matches never ceased to add some spirit into his days.  
  
"It went alright," he ventured non-commitedly.  
  
"Yes, up until Calaglin felt it necessary to inform the Lord and Lady that we had let in that group of lost women from Rohan without court permission, and that furthermore, they may have had Orcs following them, even though there were none to be seen for miles, and so on, ad nauseam," Rumil added irritatedly.  
  
Haldir cast Rumil a bemused glance and raised his hands.  
  
"Peace, brother. Calaglin is inexperienced and has not been a guard for long. We have been over this already."  
  
"He will not be a guard for much longer if he ever pulls something like that again," Rumil muttered. Haldir sighed and thrust a bowl toward him, then grabbed his wrists and pushed his hands into the flour and egg mixture. Rumil's face softened as his brother leaned over with kind eyes and quietly spoke.  
  
"He was being honest."  
  
Rumil pursed his lips in resignation and began to mix the bread dough as Orophin moved to assist Haldir with another batch. Danali silently observed the trio, her hands stroking the kitten absently, trying to imagine what having a real family was like, with real siblings and parents and older brothers one could tell her thoughts to. The prospect baffled her, yet intrigued her spirit, and she suddenly felt alone as she watched the three flinging flour at each other and laughing like children, even Rumil.  
  
When the flour wars had subsided, Danali wandered over to stand at the corner of the counter where Orophin was working and choked back a giggle. His hair was streaked with white, as were his clothes and forehead. He turned to her and grinned mischievously.  
  
"What do you need, Dani?"  
  
"When are you going to finish the song?"  
  
Rumil's voice chimed from the tiny oven at the other side of the kitchen.  
  
"Orophin sang for you?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
Orophin cast a venomous glare at Rumil and turned back to Danali, calmly ignoring the snickers coming from the oven.  
  
"Later tonight, if you wish."  
  
A light slipped into the girl's eyes and she nodded, then glanced over at Haldir, who was kneading dough with quick, powerful strokes, his sleeves rolled to his elbows and his hands moving confidently over the counter. She raised her voice a little higher.  
  
"Why do you never sing, Master Haldir?"  
  
Before he could answer, Orophin dusted his hands on his tunic and went to find another bowl.  
  
"Because the only time my brother ever sings is when he's drunk."  
  
A small clatter came from the counter where Haldir was working, and more snickers arose from the oven. A look that struck the fear of Eru into Danali passed over his countenance, and he waited calmly for Orophin to meet his eyes. Orophin opened his mouth, then thought better of it and instead moved away from the counters. He grinned broadly before ducking under Haldir's raised arm and leapt nimbly behind the chair Dulin was sleeping in. He swiftly dodged his brother again and returned to the kitchen and his dough, but not without receiving a cuff to the back of his head for his troubles.  
  
  
  
  
  
Haldir rolled his eyes, shook his head and turned to where Danali was, but saw no one. He frowned and walked around to the other side of the counter, where he found the girl with her hands pressed to the ground and her legs out in front of her, silently laughing uncontrollably, her body shaking with mirth. He knelt and waited for her to finish, a half-smile lightening his features. She looked up sheepishly at him, then accepted his hand and rose to her feet.  
  
"So you do know how to laugh," he teased gently.  
  
He led her around to the ball of dough he had been working on. She stared at it cluelessly, then gave it a pathetic little punch. Haldir smiled and walked behind her, taking her hands in his own and slowly guiding them in the kneading motions before stepping back and allowing her to try. Her movements were clumsy at first, but grew smoother as she massaged the pillowy mass. When next she turned, Rumil was standing with a wooden board, smiling encouragingly. He beckoned for her to set the dough on the tray, then slightly jerked his head at Haldir and winked before turning towards the oven.  
  
This time, she had to run to the other room with a hand over her mouth.  
  
  
  
  
  
Ok, I took two excerpts from books:  
  
Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien, Del Rey, p.125  
  
The Lays of Beleriand, J.R.R. Tolkien, Del Rey, p.5  
  
You like, don't like? I know it's a little different from my usual stuff. 


	14. Heart's Lament

Ok, ok, Haldir does sing when he's not drunk. Orophin was being a typical younger brother. Many of us know how that goes.  
  
Disclaimer: Ummm, if I owned 'em, you would know. Trust me.  
  
Thanks so much to all my reviewers. I like to know that other sentient beings are reading my story. It puts a spring in my step and a warm fuzzy on my pillow. (Not really, but, you know..)  
  
Heart's Lament  
  
Haldir woke early, before the sun brightened the eastern sky, and slowly sat up in his bed, drawing the covers around him. He looked around the room at the others' sleeping forms, the only sound a deep, rhythmic breathing that suggested peace and simplicity. He eased himself over to the wall and leaned against it wearily with a sigh, his dreams still mingling with his thoughts. A tiny glimmer from Rumil's wrist caught his eye, and a slight flash of pain registered in the storm-sea eyes as he recognized their mother's silver bracelet, the one he had found when he was searching for their parents in the Misty Mountains, the only memory they had of her. The pain flitted away to be replaced by a faraway sorrow that seemed to only make his eyes shine clearer.  
  
Haldir found himself unwillingly drawn back into memories he would rather not visit. Images flashed across his mind, their vivid color and translucence startling him. He saw Orophin, still a small child, sitting in his lap and placing his tiny hands in Haldir's big ones, laughing as if it were the most joyous thing in the world. He remembered Orophin's adoring eyes as he begged to hold Haldir's bow, and his sulking ones as their mother gathered him up for a bath. Faces came and went. Their father, strong and built, their mother, willowy and kind. Rumil, when he was also younger, when he was full of mirth and love of life. Father...  
  
They had left to travel to Imladris. They never returned.  
  
Haldir searched with other Elves, scoured the paths they had taken, to no avail. He had found the only clue to their disappearance tossed to the side of the road, partially buried under the fine sand. The bracelet's clasp was broken, as if it had been violently wrenched from the wearer and thrown away in a struggle. The silver was dusty, but the tiny blood-red jewel glittered starkly in the niphredil pendant, glaring back at him as he fingered it, a heavy darkness settling over his heart. Afterwards, he had given up and trudged home, reluctant to tell his brothers of their parents' fates, burdened with grief and the prospect of having to raise Orophin.  
  
Some days it had seemed like a greater responsibility than he could bear...  
  
Haldir had held Orophin while he wept. Rumil went into the other room and slept for three days, refusing to eat or drink. His eyes became hollow and mysterious, and he withdrew into a comfortable place inside his soul where nothing could hurt him again. He did not speak for two months, until Haldir quietly gave him the bracelet and met his eyes. Rumil had been the closest of his brothers to their mother, and had inherited her slight frame and introspective intelligence, the gleam of which Haldir saw in the clouded emerald eyes before Rumil turned away again.  
  
The memories began to fade now, and Haldir was stunned to taste warm salt on his lips. 'Pull yourself together,' he admonished himself. 'It has been centuries now.' He heaved a sigh and clumsily wiped a corner of the blanket across his cheeks, smearing wet over his face. He quickly glanced around to make sure none of the others had awakened, and his gaze lingered on the girl as she slept, the kitten precariously balanced on her forehead. He smiled sadly, and wondered what had become of her family. Would she ever find peace?  
  
What frail threads of hope was she hanging on to?  
  
He lifted himself from the floor with a quiet groan and stretched, his arms reaching skyward as he balanced on the balls of his bare feet. Without bothering to dress, he padded silently into the living room, rolling up the sleeves of his sleeping robe. He stopped before the small table beside the wicker chair and knelt. The table boasted two drawers with gilded handles, and the top one was used for keeping books. But it was the other to which Haldir's hand strayed, and slowly pulled open. He inhaled deeply as his hand reached inside and lifted out a single bowstring, a thin cord slightly frayed from wear, but still as strong as the day it was first stretched taut and released.  
  
Haldir sat back and crossed his legs, his brow furrowed in thought, his eyes clouding over with fond memory. How he had begged and cajoled his poor father for that bowstring, for that chance to be taken along to the borders with the other archers, to prove himself after all the long years of training. It was from this bowstring that he had launched his first arrow as a member of the Guard of Lothlorien. He could still see the pride in his father's eyes, in his younger brothers' eyes, in his mother's eyes as he pulled his arm back and sighted along the shaft...  
  
A soft noise behind him caused Haldir to jump and swing his head around. Orophin was standing there, also in his nightclothes, with an almost pained expression. His moon-leaf eyes glimmered in the rising dawn as he knelt down close to his beloved brother and gently took the string from his hands. Haldir placed his hand on the back of Orophin's head and drew him forward. The two brothers' foreheads touched, and both gazed down at the cord lying in Orophin's hands. Haldir sniffed.  
  
"Do you remember much of them?"  
  
Something in his brother's tone caused a piece of Orophin's heart to tear. He sighed, pulled back and grasped Haldir's hands. A sorrowful smile strained his lips as he met his brother's eyes.  
  
"Mother had a smile like the sun in the morning, when it touches the dew and melts away the night. I remember she smiled a lot."  
  
Haldir nodded and glanced down. Orophin stared off into the distance and continued.  
  
"Father was brave and had big hands-" At this, Orophin turned Haldir's hands palm up and clasped them tighter. "And- and he always spoke of his sons and what great warriors they would become. He had a big lap."  
  
Orophin managed a slightly brighter smile and tilted his head to look into Haldir's shiny eyes. Haldir finally glanced up and smiled weakly back.  
  
"He and mother used to sing to us."  
  
Orophin nodded.  
  
"And Rumil would sit close to mother, and I to you, and you would let me hold your bow sometimes."  
  
Now both brothers were smiling wistfully at the peaceful memory. Haldir half-chuckled.  
  
"And then Rumil would grab you and tickle you on the floor until you could no longer breathe."  
  
A laugh escaped from Orophin.  
  
"I remember that well, trust me."  
  
A heavy silence fell over the room as Haldir stroked the string absently before folding it and putting it back in the drawer. His hand lingered on the gold handle, and a dreammist came across his eyes. Orophin carefully helped his brother stand, and the two wandered back into the sleeping area. Delicate tendrils of gold spilled into the room from the small window and splashed on the still figures of Rumil and Danali, painting their blankets and hair in glitter.  
  
Rumil, unaware of the transformation, turned to his other side with an almost inaudible sigh and lay still once more. Dulin mewed blearily, then jumped off Danali and yawned, her tiny pink tongue lolling out as if to catch the sundrops. Orophin grinned and swept her into his arms, then strode back into the kitchen to prepare the morning meal. As he entered, an object on the dining table caught his eye. He stopped and leaned in for closer inspection. His brow wrinkled, then lifted as his eyes widened. Was that what he thought it was?  
  
He bent down and set Dulin on the floor, then walked over and took the small bow in his hands. A choke crawled up his throat as he recognized Rumil's old bow from when he was an Elfling. It had been Haldir's before that. He ran his hands along the smooth, polished wood, decorated with simple carvings of Elvish runes, then twanged the new string. Rumil guarded this piece of his childhood with his life. He would never allow anyone to touch it, much less use-  
  
"He wants to teach her."  
  
Haldir stepped away from the doorway and glided over to the table.  
  
"She has demonstrated great skill in strange places. Now we shall see what sort of warrior she will make."  
  
Orophin raised his eyebrows in disbelief, then placed the bow back on the table.  
  
"We will see what the Lord Celeborn has to say about this after that incident with Daethil."  
  
Haldir shrugged.  
  
"He was the one who recommended it. He felt we should channel her abilities into something productive."  
  
"Yes, but Rumil? And his precious bow? You know, I think he has even named it."  
  
Haldir nonchalantly walked over to the cabinets and brought out a bowl of eggs.  
  
"He was adamant. He wanted to teach her, so I told him to go ahead."  
  
Orophin shook his head and plucked an apple from another bowl near the washbasin.  
  
"Whatever. It's probably good for both of them anyway."  
  
Haldir watched him saunter into the other room to dress and focused his attention on the eggs. He paused to mutter, "We can only hope so" before turning to light the fire and ready the oven.  
  
In his dreams, Rumil heard his mother laugh as she lifted him into her lap to sing to him.  
  
******  
  
Ok, I wasn't trying to make this into a sappy tearfest type thing, but I kind of wanted to give a little background on the brothers for a change. I know their parents probably didn't die in the books, * ducks a large brick hurled by the Canon police * but Danali wasn't there either, and everyone seems to be okay with that.. 


	15. Lessons

Disclaimer: This is getting so tedious, I think I should write a song. Yes, I'll name it "The Disclaimer Song." La la la, no they're not mine. La la la, except for Danali. La la la, though Elves are divine, La la la, too bad, they belong to Tolkien...buddy. There. I think I've got a future in the music industry, don't you?  
  
Lessons  
  
"Steady, now. One, two, three, very good, raise your arm a little more. Again."  
  
Danali bit her lower lip and squinted her eyes in concentration as she quickly parried the thrusts of the Elven sword with her own. She and Rumil had been going on like this for over an hour, but her skill level had increased from nothing to dangerous. She planted her feet firmly on the forest floor and prepared for another wave of attacks, her small chest rising and falling with exertion as she challenged the Elf with a fiery gaze.  
  
Rumil danced lightly back on the balls of his feet and grasped the long handle of his blade tightly as he regarded the girl with the strange fire in her eyes. A thin silver trail of sweat glistened on one side of his head, and the sword handle had grown slick from his wet palms. Only in sparring with Haldir had he encountered such a level of speed and ability...  
  
He sighed and raised his hand to signal her to rest. He exhaled and lowered himself to an old log, setting his sword by his feet and stretching his legs out in the sun-dappled leaves. He closed his eyes, but noticed the young woman coming to sit beside him in her usual hesitant manner. The jeweled eyes languidly opened again as she plopped down on the makeshift bench, and he calmly regarded her from where he reclined, not allowing his face to display the inner turmoil he was experiencing at the present.  
  
He briefly flashed back to the archery "lesson" earlier in the day, if it could be called that. He had handed her the bow, given her an arrow and a target and she had hit the center dead on the first time. When she proceeded to do so five more times in rather rapid succession, he decided that perhaps they should move on to the blade. His calm tone hadn't matched the flush in his cheeks, and Danali had noticed his acute embarrassment, but every time he looked at her, the same pair of grave eyes had met his, encouraging him to go on, she was listening.  
  
'I wonder what Haldir will say....'  
  
Rumil's thoughts drifted along with the warm breeze, and soon he was dozing, lulled by the songwhispers that danced around his head, teasing his cloak and hair.  
  
Danali eventually sat up and glanced over at the Elf reclining against the tree. He seemed to be asleep. She sighed and slumped back restlessly, her eyes traveling along the broken crown of the forest outlined by the shimmering sunstrands resting on it. Her thoughts wandered toward the Elves and their world, which was so different from the one she had known until a short while ago.  
  
Her hands slid unconsciously along the smooth bark of the log as she mused on her companion. He had been so shocked when she had hit that target, as if he hadn't expected her to be able to wield a bow- Her train of thought derailed slightly as a thoroughly foreign concept suddenly sprang into her mind unbidden. He had expected her to possess the ability to defend herself, right? Couldn't everyone? Surely he hadn't intended to teach her how to shoot an arrow...  
  
Perhaps that was why he had looked so uncomfortable.  
  
After all, she hadn't observed many Elven women taking up arms and practicing or setting out for the borders.  
  
Was this what the outside world was really like? They had told the children back at Nencoras that in other places, girls didn't have to fight. Instead, they did something called sewing (whatever that was) and cooking and cleaning. Of course, she and her comrades hadn't believed a word, and had passed that off as another story to frighten them into staying at the accursed place. Women could fight just as well as men, and the girls hadn't seen any reason to believe otherwise; they were told so everyday.  
  
Now she wasn't so sure.  
  
Danali squeezed her eyes shut and tried to clear her mind of everything, tried to allow the clear blue to completely fill her head and drown out the noise and confusion swirling in her brain.  
  
Unfortunately, her thoughts turned to Life.  
  
Danali hated thinking about Life. She hadn't had much of one up to now and from what she had seen, it wasn't worth the hype it was given. Besides, people who thought too much about Life didn't last very long.  
  
It wasn't the world. It wasn't the others. It wasn't anything.  
  
Eventually, they just couldn't stand themselves any longer.  
  
Like Tay. Raven-haired, elven-eyed, sweet-cream laugh Tay. The only person Danali had ever loved in her life.  
  
Tay, the sister-son of the Master, who would form his clasped hands into a butterfly and dance it in the flickering candlelight, casting a somewhat lifelike animation on the wall and make Danali laugh. Then he would laugh too and collapse next to her, letting his beautiful ebony hair stream over her shoulder before it slipped to the bed. He shared his life with Danali as she shared hers with him. He offered it to her with outstretched palms, carefully, so as not to shatter it. Like his dreams.  
  
She could still picture him, in the bathtub, with his hair floating out behind his head like a dark halo, a sharp contrast to the rich red that surrounded it. His pale skin. His delicate wrists, so neatly slit. Methodically. Precisely. Tay would never have it any other way.  
  
Danali held out her arms in front of her and pretended they were floating in a bathtub. Just straight. Just so.  
  
One night, he had laid down on the grass beside her and stared at the stars with her for a while. Then he rolled to his side and pierced Danali with his strange gaze.  
  
"I think our hunting tunics should be red. Red's a good color. Why don't they ever let us wear it?"  
  
Danali sighed and absentmindedly shredded a blade of grass.  
  
"Red is easily seen, silly. We wouldn't get past the gates of Nencoras before being spotted by every creature for miles around."  
  
An unsatisfied Tay flopped back onto his back with a scowl.  
  
"Well, I like it. I think it's the most beautiful color in the world. I should like to be dressed in it from head to toe someday. And if everyone could see me, then good."  
  
He had such a serene expression on his face, his bright eyes closed forever, the light flown to the stars. His black halo swimming in scarlet. His arms floating in front of him. Just straight. Just so.  
  
Danali stood in the room and saw him for the last time. And the only thought that crossed her mind was how beautiful he looked.  
  
She suddenly, violently shook her head and chased away the past, at least to a safe distance where it could only jeer at her. Crisp yellow pine needles stuck to her cloak, and she brushed them off smartly. She glanced over at the unconscious Elf by the tree and sighed, then stood.  
  
She hadn't cried. She never would. He was in some other place now and that was that. If he was anywhere at all.  
  
Although she knew she would land in a rather large amount of trouble if she left, Danali found her feet moving of their own accord away from Rumil and the neighboring flets, off down a picturesque woodland path into other parts of the city. Surely she wouldn't come to harm if she stayed within the city limits this time. She strolled off, humming a sweet tune with a melancholy twist to it.  
  
You were right, Tay, red is a beautiful color.  
  
Swirls of a brisk breeze tousled her hair and caught her cloak, billowing it slightly. She caught glimpses of Elves going about their Lives (but not thinking about them too much), and looked around in simple interest at the bustling place. Eventually, she wandered over to an elaborately carved bench and sat. And watched.  
  
Strange people, Elves.  
  
Tay had always joked about them, though he had never seen one. Nobody had. They existed in a corner of the world reserved for the Special. They never gave a passing thought to the corner reserved for the Wretched. They were higher than that. They never looked inside the World House, only outside. Tay hated them.  
  
He had tried to make Danali hate them, but she could only muster a weak dislike. After all, they had done nothing to her.  
  
Nor, Tay pointed out, had they done anything for her.  
  
And then he was framed in crystal and crimson, her black-halo fallen angel, who scrunched up his eyes every time he laughed and died dressed in gently swirling red from head to toe, where everyone could see him. But she knew he didn't mind.  
  
She wondered what he would say if he saw her in this place.  
  
Of their own mind once more, her legs began to carry her up a huge flight of stairs to a majestic white flet high above. She did not resist. She did not know why. She merely went.  
  
For a meeting.  
  
Yes, that was it. An old friend waited to greet her at the top, in the mysterious white flet looming above her. An old friend whom she had never met before.  
  
Waited to greet her.  
  
****  
  
I was in a really odd mood when I wrote the majority of this chapter, just in case you're wondering. Sorry if it touched any nerves or hit too close to home for anyone. Senseless death always makes me cry, but it happens. 


	16. Secrets

Thank you soooo much to all my reviewers, past, present or future (hint, hint:)  
  
Chihiro- No, Danali is not suicidal, at least not anymore. She simply views death in a different light..she's been around it so long. I think anyone raised in the type of childhood she was would want to die too.  
  
Gershwin- You get hugs from all three of the brothers. Multiple ones. You've reviewed every single chapter I've posted, and are so encouraging and insightful. I send many fuzzies in your direction. (I would send you an Elf, but they're hard to fit in boxes.) Merci beaucoup!  
  
Disclaimer: Rumil, Haldir and Orophin live in my closet. ....Ok, ok, fine, I don't own any Elves. If I did, do you think I'd be writing in my spare time? Heh, heh...  
  
Secrets  
  
He was leaning against a railing overlooking a main thoroughfare far below as Danali climbed to the spacious platform and stood. He was humming a golden melody that sang of the memories of trees and the forgotten worlds long before the dreamswirls were born. Long strands of silver flowed from his head to end below his shoulders and grace the shimmering robes which continued down to his feet. He did not turn to look at her for a few moments, but continued to gaze out over his beloved city with a mysterious smile on his lips.  
  
Danali stood uncertainly at the top of the stairs, her hands hanging limp at her sides and her eyes wide in the presence of this magnificent Elf. All other thoughts faded effortlessly from her mind; she was confident that she was standing before an angel. Her feet shuffled irresistibly towards him, and he turned his head smoothly to stare straight into her eyes.  
  
****  
  
Haldir was bored. He was fidgeting and playing absently with his empty belt where his knives were kept, and his feet were tapping the ground nervously, first one, then the other. He didn't notice his actions, in fact, until Orophin stomped none too lightly on a foot and made a face. Haldir grimaced, sat back, and tried to concentrate on what the maiden was saying, but found his eyes wandering to pick out patterns in the bark on the mallorn towering before them. He though he saw Orophin make another face at him, but he wasn't sure, so he absorbed himself in the rapturous intricacies of tree bark.  
  
He and Orophin had enlisted the aid of Gelien in order to learn about living with Women. Or, in their case, a Woman. Girl. Whatever. At any rate, it had been Orophin's idea to try and figure out what to do when three bachelors and a strange girl with an identity crisis were thrown together in a small flet and forced to coexist. Haldir hadn't thought it was that necessary, but his brother ended up dragging him along for the ride anyway. And now, here he was, seeing deranged rabbits chasing three-eyed foxes into the sky in the bark of a tree.  
  
Perhaps he was going mad. Now there was a thought. He envisioned himself sprinting up a hillside decked out in niphredil, laughing maniacally with leaves stuck strategically throughout his hair. Then he thought about it some more. Then he decided to stop.  
  
Both maiden and brother jumped when Haldir suddenly blurted, " Can women make Elves go mad?"  
  
Gelien stopped lecturing abruptly and half-glared at the Marchwarden, but her glance couldn't hold a candle to the look on Orophin's face as he mentally threw knives at his brother.  
  
It took Haldir a few moments. Then his eyes swept around the little circle they were sitting in, then dropped guiltily, then darted apologetically to Orophin's face with a tiny smile that suggested a shrug of the shoulders as well. He lifted his hands in surrender toward Gelien and beckoned for her to go on as he bowed his head in acknowledgment of his masculine ignorance. Satisfied, the she-Elf continued to expand on the many subtle moods of those of the female persuasion, and Haldir spotted four deer with freakishly long tongues flying over a volcano. Amazing stuff, tree bark.  
  
Finally, the class was adjourned and Haldir stood to the side stretching while Orophin thanked Gelien. He thought he heard his youngest brother invite the girl to dinner, but wasn't sure. At any rate, the two spent a little longer than usual saying their goodbyes, and Haldir had to drag the smitten Elf away from Gelien to go home.  
  
"I think you were listening about as much as I was," Haldir murmured as his brother trotted up beside him.  
  
Orophin flushed slightly. "Well, at least I didn't pretend to be the expert on all matters feminine. 'Do women make Elves go mad?' What was that?"  
  
Haldir shrugged, flushing as well. "Just a question. One must make sure to cover everything, no matter how far out the idea might be."  
  
Orophin lifted an eyebrow. "Oh. Right." A smile crept onto his features. "Did you see the way Gelien was looking at me?" The smile stretched up to his ears as he turned his head toward the path. "She can't resist me."  
  
It was all Haldir could do to suppress the hysterical laughing fit that threatened to break loose at any moment. It was all he could do to keep a straight face, for that matter. A wicked light glinted in his eyes.  
  
"Oh, yes, Orophin. I'm sure she dreams of you, and spends every waking hour thinking of her sweet, handsome guard, and when she gathers wildflowers she calls out your name and weeps because she has not told you of her undying love for you." He stopped suddenly and shaded his eyes with his hand as if looking afar. "Hark! Is that her, running toward us with the wind in her hair and a bunch of flowers in her arms, waving to you with pure adoration burning in her eyes? Go to her, brother! She waits for you!" Haldir managed one more exaggerated arm sweep before being tackled by a fiercely blushing Orophin. He pulled himself out of an armhold and gazed across the clearing. "Oh, wait, never mind, it's just a handmaiden running from a swarm of bees. Sorry, Orophin." This time he suffered a swift kick in the shin before nimbly twisting away.  
  
Orophin disentangled himself from a pile of leaves, his face still crimson- colored. "No need to be sarcastic," he snapped. He glared at Haldir, who was still chuckling and shaking his head, and continued walking on the leaf- strewn path. He sped up ahead of his brother and raised his face to the warm afternoon sun, the gold rays mirroring themselves in his fine hair. "As a matter of fact, I happen to know that there is a maiden of the court who appears to have her eye on a certain Marchwarden."  
  
Now it was Haldir's turn to blush. "Eilinel and I are merely friends."  
  
Orophin smiled sweetly. "Oh? Then I suppose taking them down to the river and singing them to sleep on your shoulder is what you do with all your friends." He skipped further ahead and refused to look behind him, but he knew Haldir was there already. He hummed softly and stared at a nearby leaf as his rather concerned brother approached his side.  
  
"And how do you 'happen' to know this?"  
  
Orophin shrugged in his maddening way. "Oh, you know. A little bird told me." His bell-like laugh mingled with the warm breeze as he spun away before his brother could catch him. Haldir rolled his eyes disgustedly and made a mental note to watch out for spies next time he took Eilinel anywhere.  
  
Orophin picked up a leaf from the ground and played with it while he waited for Haldir to catch up. "I wonder how Rumil and Dani are getting on," he mused.  
  
****  
  
Danali drowned in clear pools of silver, achingly beautiful wells of ancient pride and sorrow filled with time. She couldn't look away. She couldn't breathe. She stared back into those wells and, without uttering a word, told the story of her heart.  
  
****  
  
Rumil sprinted back toward the flet, his long hair streaming behind him and mingling with the shafts of his arrows as he dodged trees and branches. The brisk air complemented the cold sensation in his stomach, a product of the sheer panic he was currently experiencing.  
  
He was going to die. He knew this for a fact. Quite simply put, Haldir was going to kill him, or at least maim him beyond recognition. Yes, he was a dead Elf.  
  
'Oh well,' he thought detachedly. 'At least I'll get to see Mother again.'  
  
Then a feeble glint of hope sprung in his chest, and one part of his brain said, 'Perhaps she's simply gone back home, and they're all waiting for me, and we'll all have a big laugh about this over dinner.'  
  
Then he suddenly tripped over a root and fell flat on his face right in front of Orophin's startled feet, and another part of his brain said, 'Damn.'  
  
****  
  
He raised a hand and outstretched it to her, beckoning her to come closer. His eyes continued to rivet Danali, and she stepped forward as if in a trance, her intelligent gaze sorting him out as she walked to the small bench he was gesturing from. She sat, and felt all her burdens lift and fly away as the mysterious Elf finally spoke in a light, soothing voice.  
  
"Hello, Danali. I am so glad to meet you."  
  
****  
  
"She what?"  
  
Rumil didn't say a word as his older brother sank heavily to a boulder in exasperation. Haldir massaged his temple with a thumb and forefinger, and sighed.  
  
"I don't have time for this, Rumil. You fell asleep?"  
  
Rumil exchanged an uneasy glance with Orophin and shrugged. "I was tired."  
  
Haldir lifted his head and glared at Rumil.  
  
"Look, I must return to the border tomorrow-"  
  
"I know, and I'll find her!"  
  
Haldir placed his hands on his knees and stood.  
  
"See that you do."  
  
Rumil turned away and began mentally preparing a search plan, but was interrupted by Haldir, who had a strange look on his face.  
  
"Go look in the court first. I have a feeling you shall find her there."  
  
****  
  
Celeborn folded his hands in his lap and gazed at the girl beside him for a long time. She eventually dropped her eyes, unable to hold his unwavering stare. Finally, he spoke once more.  
  
"Of all the paths you could have taken, and the one you chose led you to us." He gently lifted Danali's chin, and she stared into the same penetrating eyes. "Nothing in this world happens by chance, Danali. Do you believe that?"  
  
Danali's eyes became pleading, unsure. "The road ended here. I cannot see it anymore." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I do not know where to go. It's all ended."  
  
Celeborn's firm voice cut through her despair. "The journey has only begun, child." He turned his head to look out over the city, and Danali did the same.  
  
"It is not the end, it is the beginning."  
  
****  
  
Aww, I wish Haldir could sing me to sleep on his shoulder. *sighs* Actually, I'm sure a lot of those of the female persuasion do too. Among other things. * grins wickedly * Betcha didn't know Haldir had a girlfriend, by the way. ;p He's the private type, ya know. 


	17. Questions

I'd like to thank all my reviewers, Tolkien, and coffee for making this story what it is today. * sigh * Coffee. Too bad they didn't have it in Middle Earth. I've always wanted to see a caffeinated Elf.  
  
Questions  
  
"And then he gave me this."  
  
Danali held up a small longbow, it's smooth gossamer length gilded with silver Elven runes that wrapped around the handle and stretched to the ends. She held it out proudly for the brothers to see; never before had she owned something so fine, and from an Elven king no less. The other three widened their eyes, and Haldir smiled in appreciation of the gift.  
  
They had eaten a delicious meal, and were now seated in front of the fire. Rumil was reclining in a chair, and the others were sprawled out on the floor haphazardly, snatching what relaxation they could get. After Rumil had retrieved Danali from Celeborn, he had been strangely silent, almost sullen, and hadn't spoken a word to anyone since the incident. Now it was he who broke the peace.  
  
"So what does he want you to do now, serve in the Guard? Shall I tell them to build guardrails on the flets in preparation?" His icy stare fell on the girl, who was taken aback by the sheer malice in his tone. Danali met his glare with the same ferocity, but the Elf merely sneered. "Shall I assign you a personal guard to ensure that you do not run away without telling people?"  
  
Haldir sat up swiftly. "Rumil, that's enough."  
  
Danali felt the anger swell, it's hot-cold tendrils surging up her spine. She put her bow on the floor and sat up straighter, her cheeks flushed. "What on earth is your problem? You're the one who fell asleep, you know."  
  
Rumil rolled his eyes as his features twisted into exasperated anger and he flung his arms out over the sides of the chair. "Oh, yes, I forgot, it's all my fault, you know. 'Danali, don't go running off.' 'Hmm, I think I'll go run off.' Is that about the extent to which you are capable of following orders? Because that's what I gather."  
  
Now Haldir was trying to hush his brother, whose voice was rising with each phrase, but to no avail. Danali was leaning over her crossed legs, her voice raised as well.  
  
"Never once did you tell me not to 'run off,' and I don't believe it's any of your business what I do with my life anyway."  
  
Rumil suddenly sat forward in the chair, his eyes reflecting the fiercely burning fire. His voice dripped with barely controlled rage.  
  
"It becomes my business, girl, when you fly off and start causing trouble in the forest. It became my business after you nearly got us flogged ten times over for breaking the Lord Celeborn's advisor's arm. It is my business, because you can't seem to keep your mouth shut and your feet off the path to trouble."  
  
Danali's eyes blazed. "Is that what you think of me? Come on, Rumil, tell me what you think of me." Her face was contorted into something fearsome, and Orophin was sitting up with a cautionary hand on her arm and a meaningful look on his face as he stared at her, but she heeded him not. Haldir raised his hands and spoke, but neither of the verbal combatants heard him. Their words had woven a web which they were now trapped in, and pride enmeshed them further still.  
  
Rumil untangled himself first, and the spark in his eyes dimmed as he took a deep breath, the scowl lingering on his face.  
  
The anger bubbled and burst upon the surface, and Danali didn't bother to try and conceal it any further. Her blood boiled and clamored for more, and her abused spirit railed against having to bow down any longer. She clenched her fists and jumped to her feet as Rumil turned his head away, shouting, "Finish what you start, stupid Elf-maid! Tell me!"  
  
Orophin leaped to his feet as well, and stepped smoothly in front of her. Danali paused and glared at the Elf, her arms crossed in defiance. She was shocked to see the usual mirth replaced with deadly seriousness, and the intensity of his gaze told her she had gone too far.  
  
She was even more shocked when he calmly raised his hand and slapped her hard across the face, once.  
  
Time stopped as she slowly lifted her hand to her stinging cheek. She remembered seeing the kitchen and observing the fine carving detail on the sides of the counters. She remembered that her mouth was hanging open. She remembered how swiftly the strands of anger flew from her soul, and felt them escape in hot streams flowing from her eyes. It seemed like an eternity as she turned her head back to face Orophin, who had a much gentler expression in his unwavering gaze. She saw Rumil standing behind him, unreadable, inaccessible; like her, she thought. Haldir's eyes were averted.  
  
Danali pivoted on her heel and sprung to the side, then purposefully, calmly, strode to the sleeping room and flung herself upon the mat. She hugged her knees to her chest and fixed a concentrated stare on the opposite wall, silently cursing the tears and trying to think of nothing, nothing at all.  
  
Her mind kept showing her images of Tay. "They're like this everywhere," he had told her, after a particularly brutal session of punishment in which she had had her hair pulled, her stomach kicked in, and a couple of ribs broken. She had taken some bread from the kitchen the night before.  
  
She heard him now, clearly, as she closed her eyes, his sweet, matter-of- fact voice droning on as he carefully cleaned her face and bandaged her chest. She had refused to believe him. More tears came.  
  
She heard a tongue clucking, then felt arms slide around her and gently lift her into a warm lap. She sniffed as Tay pressed her head against his chest, and her fears fled as she realized that nothing could harm her now, she was safe. She opened her eyes and blinked to alleviate the blurriness, then looked up into Tay's face, seeing Orophin instead.  
  
Danali half-heartedly pushed against the Elf, but his arms were wrapped firmly around her, and the sad smile on his lips promptly made her go limp. She slumped back against him resignedly and soon she heard him singing softly in the dark, a soothing lullaby about stars and rivers.  
  
The song stopped after a while, and the two sat quietly, surrounded by the shade of night and the sounds of crickets serenading the woods. Danali was relishing the Elf's embrace; she had never been held before, except for a couple of times by Tay. She had never experienced the simple bliss of being loved just because, or even being held in value, and a wellspring of strange emotions was manifesting itself and causing mild chaos in her brain.  
  
You were wrong, Tay.  
  
The bliss was shattered when Haldir walked in with a stern countenance and beckoned to Orophin wordlessly. Danali sulked as Orophin gently pushed her from his lap, then raised her to her feet and propelled her back into the living room. Rumil was sprawled in the chair again with a carefully bored expression plastered on his face, and Haldir chose to lean against the wall with his arms folded. Danali and Orophin lowered themselves to the floor.  
  
Haldir broke the nervous silence. "I think it's time you told us of yourself, Danali."  
  
The girl stiffened and felt a tightness behind her eyes. "What do you mean?"  
  
Rumil interrupted before his brother could speak. "Your past, Danali. Whence you come. Your family. That sort of thing."  
  
The tightness squeezed. She managed a weak smile. "There is nothing to tell." Her voice was a little too high, her eyes didn't quite meet the others'.  
  
Haldir lifted an eyebrow. "Oh? Then what Rumil told me of your warrior skills is not true?"  
  
Rumil leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, his eyes holding hers. "The exercises I put you through today, you remember?"  
  
Danali nodded, and Rumil continued, pronouncing each word carefully so she would understand the first time. "There are some Elves on the Guard, Danali, who cannot yet perform some of the maneuvers you mastered."  
  
The tightness became burning. "And?" She tried to keep her voice calm, level.  
  
Rumil stared incredulously at her for a few more seconds, then shrugged and looked off into space, turning it over to his brothers. Haldir pushed away from the wall and came to kneel in front of her, softening his gaze when he saw that her expression resembled that of an Orc looking up the shaft of an arrow two seconds before being relieved of all fears forever. "All we're asking is that you tell us where you came from." He reached for a trembling hand when her eyes widened even more. "We're not going to send you back, Danali."  
  
Rumil's quiet voice cut through the tension. "We simply want to know how you are able to throw a grown Elf on the ground with one arm, and why you are faster than any being, mortal or not, that I have encountered."  
  
Danali tasted purple in the back of her throat. The spark loomed at the edge of her mind. She glanced from one expectant face to another and shook her head, unable to speak. Rumil straightened a little and glowered at her. "Don't start that ag-"  
  
Haldir silenced him with a warning look and a raised hand, then shifted his eyes back to the terrified young woman. "If it is too difficult for you, I'd rather you not tell us, but Orophin and I are leaving tomorrow for two weeks, and when we come back you are either going to tell us of your past or you are going to leave. I will ask the Lord and Lady to send you to Meduseld, where resides the king of Rohan, and he will decide what to do with you." Haldir sat back on his heels wearily. "Those are your options."  
  
Danali nodded slowly, steeling herself. Her next words slipped from her mouth of their own accord.  
  
"No," she murmured. "I will tell you now."  
  
****  
  
Dun dun duuunnn. Ok. I know at least two of you were waiting for this. Stay tuned.... 


	18. Dreaming In Silver

Sorry this took so long; I am counting down the days until I will be free of high school forever. Until then, I must continue to slave away ceaselessly, and only work on my story when I get the opportunity.  
  
In answer to an observation that has been brought up, yes, Danali is based on the show "Dark Angel," which I adored until they cancelled it (grrrr), and in my defense, none of Shakespeare's plots were original either. :)  
  
Also, the thought of sending Danali away never even crossed Haldir's mind; he was simply trying to get her to talk.  
  
Many fuzzies once more to my reviewers. They are personally gift-wrapped with love from Haldir. Deep down he's actually quite a sensitive guy.  
  
Dreaming In Silver  
  
I'm so cold.  
  
The stars are so bright, like candles of spirits in their loneliness.  
  
Jenian is lying under that bush yonder. She's cold too. Her eyes are big. She's staring at Death.  
  
The crimson seeping from her back is staining the snow. It creeps a little way before it freezes. She's staring straight ahead. Death is staring back. I wonder what it looks like.  
  
I reach out to touch it. I touch Jenian's arm instead. I leave my hand there. She's so cold.  
  
I press my face into the snow and wait.  
  
Eventually, the timid spark goes out. It freezes. It spills out with the crimson glittering in the snow.  
  
I raise my head and look at her. She is still staring ahead. Her hand is clenched around soil and snow. Her breath is no longer frosting in the starlit air.  
  
My tears melt the snow under my head.  
  
******  
  
"I have always lived in a waking dream. I have never belonged to myself. Even my thoughts were taken from me before I began to make sense of them. I was not allowed to know who I was, or of what substance my soul was composed. I simply was."  
  
"I don't know my mother; she was taken from me when I was but a few hours in this world. We were expected to be able to take care of ourselves. If we cried, we had to do more drills, more work. We learned quickly that crying showed weakness, and weakness earned punishment."  
  
*****  
  
Here by this river I stand, as my tears fall into the moon-stained water. I kneel and see myself looking back. I turn away.  
  
*******  
  
Dulin, come here Dulin. Good cat. At least you are not staring at me with pity in your beautiful eyes. You don't care where I come from. I hope you don't mind my tears in your fur. I will not look away. I will behold that immortal light in their eyes and I will not look away. I am staring down stars. I'm so frightened.  
  
******  
  
" I- we escaped Nencoras the same night you found me. I don't know where the others are."  
  
Jenian's gone, though.  
  
" I don't know why I'm faster, or stronger. I was just born that way."  
  
I don't care. Why are you asking me these questions? I don't care, I DON'T CARE. Leave me alone, I want to sleep.  
  
Leave me alone.  
  
*******  
  
If only you were here Tay, I could fall into your love and sleep forever. No Elves, no Hunters, just you.  
  
I could lie in your arms and watch the moonlight cascade over the mountaintops. I could dream in silver, not the fire-black shades that consume my joy. I could run and run and run without ever leaving you. The cold strands of my soul would be warm again.  
  
I could dream in silver.  
  
*******  
  
No, I don't want to help find Nencoras on a map. Like they would ever tell us where we lived anyway.  
  
"I don't know where Nencoras is. It's close by, and it's in a forest. That's all I know."  
  
Fangorn? What kind of name is that?  
  
I shake my head. I don't know, damn it.  
  
"Sure. It's there."  
  
Don't grow angry with me, Haldir. Your eyes darken into pools of stormclouds. I don't want you to be angry, I want you to understand. Why won't you understand?  
  
*******  
  
The stars climb across the heavens and focus their rays into the windows. Rumil sits next to me. He looks like an angel in the ancient light, cold and fair. The fire burns low. Dulin sleeps in my lap. I am one surrounded by three, yet I am alone.  
  
I don't want to tell them any more. The pain stabs into my heart with each word. It's like liquid sun pouring down my throat: the memories burn with the strength of fire, as the spark lying within my subconscious burns.  
  
"I guess my only purpose is to kill or be killed. I don't know how to do much of anything else."  
  
Please don't look at me that way, Rumil. Your gaze shimmers in the dark. I can feel the strands rise up and choke me. Your pity encourages them to slither around my spirit and wring it dry.  
  
A silence, heavy as night's wings, falls over us. I look down at my hands and find they have clenched into fists.  
  
Haldir clears his throat. "Well, you now have a new purpose," he says softly.  
  
Anger rises in my chest. What does he know? Maybe I want it this way. My anger subsides as I realize I don't want to live for death. I don't want to hurt anyone.  
  
I glance down at the bow by my crossed legs and want to vomit.  
  
*******  
  
We run down to the lake barefoot, the sun warming the patches of unshaded ground and drawing out our laughter. Tay is clasping my hand in his. He runs so fast, I can barely keep up with him. We stop at the shore and gaze across the water. The water is cold as we wade in, fully clothed, splashing each other all the way. My willow stands near by the bank of the stream, watching over us. Tay and I don't speak; we don't need to. I fling a handful of water up in the air and watch the sun transform the droplets into tiny rainbows, shards of glitter that hang suspended for a moment, then are gone forever.  
  
*******  
  
I will not weep. I will look past the dreams that haunt me and push them away forever. I will extinguish the purple spark that sets control out of my reach. I will, I can..  
  
I squeeze tears from my eyes and sniffle. I can't bear to gaze into their eyes any longer. Dulin stares up at me solemnly. There are stars in her eyes as well. There's nothing but dust in mine.  
  
******  
  
I see you standing there by the roots of my willow. Your arms are raised in welcome, but I am not worthy of you yet. You who had the courage to leave this world before it could harm you any more. Beautiful one, with the dark halo and the pale skin. Crimson swirls danced around you. And they sang.  
  
******  
  
This time, it's Haldir who pick me up in his arms and carries me to my bed. He covers me with a blanket and strokes the strands of hair from my forehead. I hear him sigh. He's so tired, but he thinks no one else notices.  
  
I gaze up sleepily at him, through tear-blurred vision, and murmur, " I wish you could sleep." My hand reaches for his smooth face, but he gently pushes it back down. His eyes are glistening in the moonlight. He can't speak, but simply smiles sadly at me before rising to leave.  
  
I wake up later in the night to a soft, ethereal voice singing wordlessly next to me. In the near utter blackness, I can make out a figure sitting cross-legged by my bed. He sits calm and straight, and very softly brushes his long fingers over my hair and cheek. I see a silver bracelet on his wrist. The small jewel in it glitters like a drop of blood trapped within a diamond.  
  
I don't move. He does not know I'm awake. The song is a call to sleep. It beckons to me. Though there are no words, I know it is a vow of protection, a shield of promised safety that he weaves around me. I slip back into my dreams. They are tinted with silver. No black remains.  
  
*****  
  
Through the cold-induced madness I am fighting, I glance up at the stars again and long to hold them in my hands. If they could fall to the Earth and sing, my soul would be healed.  
  
The snow melts and seeps into my thin tunic. I shiver violently. The tears have frozen on my cheeks. The moonlight strikes Jenian's black hair and makes it shine. Slowly, slowly, a thin rivulet of blood streams from the corner of her parted lips.  
  
I look forward and the stars speak to me. I must go on. I have survived. I will live.  
  
As I gather my cloak about me and rise to my feet, I whisper one last farewell to the one the moon claims as it's own now. I feel my legs move, numbly. I am going quickly now.  
  
The stars guide me. The path opens up before my feet. I will make it.  
  
The snow shimmers. I go to my future.  
  
*******  
  
Thanks so much for reading. I need input here: should I continue this or not? You probably want to see how Danali and Rumil survive together alone (I know I do:), but I don't want this thing to drag on and on forever. And she still hasn't told them everything.. I don't know. * shrugs * 


	19. Heart's Welcome

To everybody: Thanks so much to all reviewers once again, and I'm sorry it's been a while. Hopefully I'll have time in college to continue this, although I'm a little worried because I don't think Haldir will fit in my closet. :)  
  
Heart's Welcome  
  
The three brothers and a bleary-eyed Danali stood at the north gate of Caras Galadhon as the rising sun was already warming the ground and melting away the cold of night. Danali was dressed in new garments, and Orophin had already remarked on how Elvish she looked when she wasn't trying to maim people. A proper young woman. She had glowered at him in the most withering fashion she could muster, but Orophin seemed to have some sort of protective shield around him that warded off death stares, and he merely laughed.  
  
All seemed to be forgiven between the two; early that morning Orophin had woken Danali up for a simple breakfast and a shimmering sunrise. He had asked about her home forest, and though she wove tales of it's beauty and aching mystery, she had not mentioned her willow. It was a piece of her life that was hers alone. Orophin seemed to realize this eventually.  
  
"You have a secret garden in your heart, Dani," he had observed, his clear gaze piercing her to the core. "No fruits of it pass your lips, nor any roses will you give."  
  
Danali laughed humorlessly. "The roses withered a long time ago, Master Orophin. As for the fruits, they have all faded and gone." She sniffed and stared down at the tea mug clutched in her hands. Orophin leaned over and waited for her eyes to gradually slide up to meet his.  
  
"But some are still blooming, and some have yet to blossom."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Rumil stood uneasily in the cool twilit air as his brothers took their leave for the Northern Fences. Danali stood by him, dressed in a new tunic and cloak, a gift from Eilinel, who, after hearing about the girl's plight from Haldir, set to making specially fitted clothes for a young woman with a warrior's spirit. Rumil swung his head around to look at her, and noticed how she did indeed appear almost Elvish. She glanced up at him and he turned away swiftly, ignoring her puzzled expression.  
  
Both watched the figures of Elves retreating into the distance until they passed out of sight, Danali with an unreadable look on her face, Rumil with an almost pained spark in his eyes. He finally turned back to his charge and smiled wanly. "It's you and I for two weeks." Danali merely stared back at him. "We are going to have to get along, you know." The smile faded, and Danali pushed past him.  
  
"Well, I'll try, but I don't know about you."  
  
Resisting the urge to throw his hands up in resignation, Rumil sighed deeply instead and followed. 'Oh, yay, I get to put up with a stubborn streak the size of Caradhras,' he thought as Danali flounced ahead to the flet.  
  
'Oh, goody, I get to live with the most stubborn being on Middle Earth,' thought Danali as Rumil casually stepped behind her. 'And there's no one to defend me now.'  
  
Rumil secretly smirked as he watched the girl in front of him. 'Well, at least now there's no one to take her side. I might actually enjoy this. I mean, she might even listen to me for once.'  
  
'I have no idea what he's smirking about. Probably hatching some nefarious plan for making me listen to him or something.'  
  
'Yes, if I can only get her to hear me out, then perhaps we shall reach some agreement.'  
  
'I like him and all, but I will never agree with him.'  
  
'This could be good.' Rumil rubbed his hands together in anticipation of molding his charge into a better person.  
  
Danali sighed as they reached the door of the small dwelling.  
  
'This is going to blow.'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Just off the northwestern border of Lothlorien, a silent figure purveyed his surroundings with a keen eye and licked his lips nervously. Ahead of him was a slim clearing, and then the most beautiful forest he had ever laid eyes on. He wished to enter this forest more than anything, and the strangest sense of mystery swept over him as he observed it, as well as the faintest hint of singing on the light breeze.  
  
They had told him not to go within a mile of the place, it was certain death to set foot on the enchanted ground, and stories of men entering there and never coming out were true; they were probably killed.  
  
Zeki had trouble believing this, among other myths ignorant men made up about the Fair Folk. If he could only meet one, talk to one and see the fair city that was but a legend in the region, then he would know. After all, the more he knew about Elves, the less remorse he'd have about killing one.  
  
He smirked to himself. Know your enemy. Rule number one.  
  
The smirk faded slowly as a burning twinge of fear began to creep up his throat. He had been taught to love and fear Elves, but had just ended up hating them.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Rumil emitted a long stream of Elven curses as the egg rolled off the counter and splattered neatly on the floor, causing him to knock over a glass of water in his haste to prevent the other egg from sharing the same fate. Danali stood nearby, staring wide-eyed at the frazzled Elf as he bent to clean the mess. She had never heard so many creative curses in her life, and made a mental note of some she had particularly liked, then moved to help Rumil mop up the remaining water.  
  
"Sleep is good," she remarked matter-of-factly, noticing that Rumil had dark rings under his eyes and looked a little pale. He stopped cleaning abruptly and stared at her, as if trying to figure her out, and also somewhat angrily. She stared innocently back, and he allowed a smile to touch his lips, then he chuckled and resumed cleaning.  
  
"I've always been a bit clumsier than the average Elf," he explained softly. "My brothers just roll their eyes and help me back on my feet."  
  
Danali smiled at the thought of a clumsy Elf, then at the thought of Rumil falling out of trees and tripping over his own feet. As if he could tell her thoughts, Rumil looked up and cocked an eyebrow, then grinned.  
  
"Of course," he said, "Haldir walks into trees whenever Eilinel's around, and he thinks no one notices."  
  
The small flet was filled with laughter for several minutes thereafter.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Zeki fingered his blades absentmindedly as he glared at the forbidding darkness of the forest. He had painstakingly passed through the clearing, and now all he had to do was enter. And then be promptly shot.  
  
The guards were going to be a bit of a problem. From what he knew, Elven sentinels were silent and swift. He would be dead before he knew anyone was there. He had thought this out over many hours, though, and hoped to the Vala that his rather pathetic plan would work.  
  
He stood and stepped into the edge of the woodland, then slowly raised his hands and called out, "Help! Please, I have need of help! Will someone answer me? Please!" The silence was stark after he stopped shouting, and a cold sweat broke out all over his body as he trembled in the dark. Several minutes passed, and Zeki began to rue his plan from the start. He almost wet himself when a smooth, dark voice came from close behind him, demanding he state his name and true purpose in these woods, and he turned to look up an arrow shaft straight into the perilous eyes of the fairest creature he had ever seen.  
  
In the late morning sunlight that plunged through the trees, the Elf's eyes glittered, and Zeki noticed nervously that he hadn't moved or blinked. The dull blue gaze never left the boy as he awkwardly explained his presence, nor did the bow waver. Zeki finally finished his rather lame tale, and the Elf lowered his bow slightly enough to sneer at the young man. "Go back where you came from, we do not welcome liars into this realm."  
  
The sweat began to bead and run down Zeki's back and neck. He pushed down the swell of panic and composed himself quickly under the glare of the Elf, putting the most pathetic look he could muster on his face, and a sniveling tone in his voice. "How could you turn away a poor soul in need? Heartless Elf, can't you see I am in grave peril?"  
  
A look of disgust settled on the Elf's features, and he tightened the string on the bow. "Yes, you are in grave peril, unless you turn around and return the way you came. Do you honestly think I couldn't see you slithering on your belly like a snake through the clearing? Do you take me for such a fool, boy?"  
  
Zeki's patience ran out, and faster than the eye could record his hand shot out and grabbed the arrow, yanking it from the startled Elf's hand, then the bow. He quickly dealt the Elf a mean blow on the head, and caught him as he slumped to the ground, then began undressing him, shucking off his own clothes as he exchanged them for the Elvish ones. He eventually stood again and viewed his handiwork. 'How very unfair,' he thought bemusedly. 'He looks better in my clothes than I did.'  
  
Shouldering the quiver of arrows and bow, Zeki set out into the forest, hoping his hair was adequately long enough to pass him off to the others, at least until he could get through the gates to the city.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Do you ever miss them?"  
  
Danali sighed and swung her head up to gaze into the distance, her hands buried deep in dark, loamy soil.  
  
"Some of them, I suppose. Yes." She turned her eyes back down to the sapling she was planting. "And others, no. They frightened me. Madness took them. All they wanted to do was kill. Orcs. Elves. Each other...." Her voice trailed off into a quavering whisper. "There was nothing they didn't hate."  
  
She didn't raise her eyes again, and Rumil stayed silent until the tiny tree was instilled in it's new home. Nearby, three mallyrn of comparable size towered overhead in a loose cluster, their branches spread proudly as if to greet all who ventured near. Now, as the two stood back and observed the scene, they appeared to be shielding the baby tree from harm, their branches now splayed in protection. Rumil smiled and pointed to the tree on the left.  
  
"I planted that one when I came of age, and Orophin planted that one on the other side. Haldir's is the middle." Danali nodded and bit back the small feeling of pride that was dancing in her soul. Rumil turned and gently placed his hand on her shoulder to guide her back, but her gaze lingered for a few seconds more before she reluctantly trudged after him in the lengthening shadows.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A ribbon of sunlight fell through the canopy and struck the sapling, making it seem to shimmer. One by one, three golden leaves drifted down to touch it, as if comforting it, then slid to the floor and glowed around it, wafers of gold in the sun.  
  
Hee, hee. Haldir walks into trees. Well, love is blind, I guess. :) 


End file.
